Throughout his career, Zach Galifianakis has done everything from hosting his own talk show to stealing the show in one of the best movies of the 2000s to giving outrageous performances in animated (or partially animated) films. You name it, and he’s done it. Well, we’ll be able to add horticulture to that list this spring, as the comedian has a new Netflix original series about to hit the 2026 TV schedule: This Is a Gardening Show.

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Zach Galifanakis, the guy behind some of the most outrageous lines in The Hangover and the king of cringey interview shows, is going to be taking us on a journey through the world of gardening on Earth Day. This show looks absolutely wild and the best kind of fun, and, you know, I couldn’t be more excited…

This Is A Gardening Show Will See The Comedian Dig Into The World Of Gardening

As someone who likes spending time in the garden but also someone whose brown thumb is responsible for the untimely deaths of countless vegetables over the years, This Is a Gardening Show looks like something that I’ll totally be into. Based on what I’ve gathered from the show’s trailer, the docuseries will follow Zach Galifinakis as he steps out from between two ferns and into the world of gardening.

With interviews with everyone from experts to young children, some self-depracting humor (is he going to use that to fertilize his garden?) about his own experiences digging in dirt, and a healthy sprinkling of sincerity, this could be both an informative and entertaining series just in time for spring. I’m getting the same vibes I got from Rainn Wilson’s The Geography of Bliss, which ended up being one of the most charming, uplifting, and hilarious docuseries I’ve watched in the past few years.

That said, this is Zach Galifinakis we’re talking about, so anything can happen…

I Can’t Figure Out The Show’s Tone, And That Has Me Even More Excited

I want to believe that This Is a Gardening Show will be just that, a heartfelt, humorous, and fun-loving gardening show. However, considering Zach Galifianakis’ past efforts (remember that bonkers Brad Pitt interview?) and his offbeat sense of humor, I honestly don’t know what to expect with this show. That said, this aspect has me even more excited to watch this next month.

I don’t know how someone from my parents’ generation will take it, especially if they’re thinking this is a straightforward gardening program and have no understanding of Galifianakis’ body of work, but this promise of a wild and unpredictable show has me even more interested to see how it unfolds. Will it be a deconstruction of your standard garden-variety show, or a love letter to those classic HGTV shows from the ‘90s before the channel became a 24/7 gauntlet of realtors and rehabbers? We shall see.

The only way to know for sure is by watching This Is a Gardening Show when it starts streaming for anyone with a Netflix subscription on April 22.

For almost 20 years (but just 8 seasons and some movies), Reno 911! has been cracking us up. The creators and core cast members, Thomas Lennon, Kerri Kenny-Silver, and Robert Ben Garant, all started on MTV's The State (along with late-season cast member Joe Lo Truglio), clearly used all their connections to bring in both up-and-coming comedians at the time (like Zach Galifianakis) and established superstars (like Kenny Rogers and Paul Reubens). Here is a list of actors who you may have forgotten played roles in the classic comedy.

Zach Galifianakis

Before he became a household name in The Hangover series, for which he delivered many of the funniest lines in the movie, Zach Galifianakis was a semi-regular contributor to Reno 911!. He played the role of Frisbee, a survivalist with a boatload of kids who lived out by the airport (and thought aliens were invading) in multiple episodes of the show in the early years.

Patton Oswalt

Comedian Patton Oswalt's career started with a slew of funny but small-ish parts in movies like Magnolia, Down Periscope, and Dodgeball. He first appeared on Reno 911! in the show's second season and went on to multiple appearances, playing multiple characters, including appearances in the two movies, Reno 911!: Miami and Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon.

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens really needs no introduction. As Pee-wee Herman, he became a Gen X (and all the generations after) icon. Reubens, who died in 2023, played the amazing character Rick, who headed up his own "citizens' patrol" which cracked up audiences, and annoyed the members of the Reno Sheriff's Department.

Paul Scheer

Paul Scheer has made it a habit to star in some of the funniest shows of the last 20 years. Shows like The League, Veep, and Black Monday have made Scheer a household name. HE also played multiple roles in Season 6 of Reno 911!

Natasha Leggero

Natasha Leggero's first role came in one of too-oft forgotten fake reality show Joe Schmo 2 in 2004, the follow-up to the original The Joe Schmo Show. From there, she appeared in the reality show MTV's The 70s House. Leggero parlayed that into three appearances on Reno 911! playing different characters, mostly getting arrested.

Ryan Stiles

Ryan Stiles is certainly most well-known for delivering some of the funniest lines on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, where he's been a cast member going back to the 1990s. He also popped up on Reno 911! as a police officer charged with training the idiots in the sheriff's department on how to go undercover in Season 5.

Jamie Lee Curtis

One of the most surprising cameos in the show's history came in one of the later seasons when none other than Jamie Lee Curtis appeared as Lt. Donna Fitzgibbons, a one-eyed, no-nonsense from Sparks Sheriff's department who Dangle brings in to prank the other members of the squad. She also shares Dangle's sense of fashion.

Keegan-Michael Key

One of the funniest recurring morons the Reno Sheriff's Department has to deal with is the "hypothetical criminal" played by the great Keegan-Michael Key. He appeared a bunch of times over the years as a character who comes with hypothetical crimes he definitely didn't commit. Somehow, he seems to keep getting away with the crimes.

Paul Rudd

The ageless Paul Rudd appeared in five episodes of the show in the final seasons of the original run. He played Guy Gerricault, a very unnerving Lamaze coach for Trudy while she's pregnant. He also appeared in the first movie, Reno 991: Miami as a completely different character.

Rachael Harris

After bouncing around Hollywood for about a decade, working regularly but never really starring in anything, Rachael Harris appeared in Reno 911! as Dangle's ex-wife. She's best known these days for her role as Linda in Lucifer.

Christina Applegate

Christina Applegate has an almost "blink and you'll miss it" cameo as the legendary Terry's wife. It's hard to believe Terry (Nick Swardson) would be married to anyone, especially someone who looks like Christina Applegate.

Dwayne Johnson

There isn't a bigger star on the planet than Dwayne Johnson. The Rock, as he was known in wrestling, seems to have endless energy, with movies starring him being constantly released. One such movie is the first one from this franchise, Reno 911!: Miami, where he plays a cartoonish SWAT team leader. It's a role that suits him perfectly, of course.

Ron White

Stand-up comic Ron White is one of the funniest comedians around and his character on Reno 911!, as a drunk pilot, is exactly the kind of role White was born to play. He's simply hilarious.

Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis

Before they played Charlie and "The Waitress" in Always Sunny In Philadelphia, real-life couple Charlie Day and Mary Elizabeth Ellis played twins in a... disturbing...relationship in Reno 911!'s second season. The chemistry they are known for now was on full display in their one hilarious appearance.

Murray SawChuck

Fans of Pawn Stars will recognize Murray SawChuck (or Murray the Magician) as one of the experts Rick brings in when he needs to evaluate the value of a magic prop. He's also well-known for his stage show in Las Vegas. In his appearance on Reno 911!, SawChuck plays a magician who gets pulled over, and then pulls out a bunch of tricks, of course.

Nick Swardson

Without a doubt, the most popular recurring "criminal" on the show is Terry, played by the hilarious Nick Swardson. It's fair to say you probably haven't forgotten his unforgettable appearance across pretty much every season and movie from the franchise, but we had to include him on this list, of course.

Danny DeVito

Did you know that one of the "producers" of Reno 911! is the iconic Danny DeVito? On the show, he has appeared as himself, who is a producer of the fake show that the real show is mockumenting. How meta!

Jim Rash

Jim Rash is best known for playing the hapless Dean in the NBC sitcom Community. He's also an accomplished writer, earning an Oscar nomination for writing The Descendants, starring George Clooney and Shailene Woodley. He was one of the more "regular" recurring characters, Andrew, in the early seasons of the show, who was arrested, usually in a compromising position, a number of times. He appeared 15 times in total as the wacky character.

Michael Ian Black

Though he was never a full-time cast member of Reno 911!, Michael Ian Black, as a member of The State, is a good friend and regular cohort of many of the cast of Reno 911!. Black appeared in multiple episodes, playing multiple characters on the show, and in the movie, Reno 911!: Miami.

Ian Roberts

Ian Roberts was never part of The State, but he did cut his teeth in another legendary improv group, Upright Citizens Brigade, which he helped found with Amy Poehler, Adam McKay, and Matt Walsh. Heady stuff. He joined the regular cast of Reno 911! in the show's first final season in 2009.

Oscar Nunez

We all know Oscar Nunez from The Office and its sister show, The Paper, where his character, also named Oscar, is the lone crossover character between the shows. Before The Office, Nunez appeared in a couple of episodes in the first season as Captain Dwayne Hernandez. He appeared in a later season as "Spanish Mike" as well. He even popped up in the movie Reno 911!: Miami, as "Jose Jose Jose."

Diedrich Bader

At the same time that Reno 911! was a hit on Comedy Central in the mid-2000s, Dog the Bounty Hunter was a phenomenon on A&E. Naturally, the mockumentary about a police department had to mock the bounty hunter. Enter Diedrich Bader, famous for his roles in Office Space and The Drew Carey Show. Bader played "Tommy Hawk," modeled after the Dog (Dwyane Chapman), right down to the blonde mullet.

George Lopez

Every police department in every city has to deal with the mayor sometimes. When that mayor is a drunk, like George Lopez's character in Reno 911!, he can be maddening for the cops, but hilarious for audiences.

"Weird Al" Yankovic

"Weird Al" Yankovic has the honor that no one else on Reno 911! ever had. The legendary musician and actor got to play a person from real life. Appropriately, it was another musician, Ted Nugent. Of course, it's a completely over-the-top satirized version of the Motor City Madman, but Weird Al's look is dead on.

Seth Green

Sometimes it seems like Seth Green is literally everywhere. This was especially true in the 2000s. Whether it was shows like Robot Chicken, which he also co-created, or Entourage, or, of course, Family Guy, or movies like the Austin Powers franchise and The Italian Job, Green was great. He was also hilarious in his Reno 911! cameo as the ridiculously mean boss of two sheriffs who were undercover as fast food employees.

Rainn Wilson

If we're honest here, Rainn Wilson's appearance in Reno 911! as a murderer taking the sheriffs on a wild goose chase feels like it could almost be his character from The Office, Dwight's brother, or cousin. It's honestly one of the funniest episodes of the whole series.

Debra Wilson

Debra Wilson is probably best known as the longest-serving cast member of MadTV, which included the first 8 seasons of the classic variety show. In addition to a ton of voice work in movies and TV, she's also known for playing Oprah Winfrey in the Scary Movie franchise, and for playing Dominatrix on three episodes of Reno 911! in 2008.

Brian Posehn

Yet another stand-up who played a great recurring character on the show is Brian Posehn. Posehn played Stevie the Coroner in a few episodes in the show's original run on Comedy Central. It's a perfect character for the comic, famous for his deadpan delivery. Who doesn't want a seriously funny, but deadly serious, coroner on a show like this?

Nick Krull

Another actor who plays the absolutely perfect role for his talents is Nick Krull. Krull plays an offensive shock jock who makes his name by saying the most ridiculous things. His take on Cinco de Mayo is as funny as it is offensive.

Scott Thompson

Like others on this list, Scott Thompson is a veteran of a legendary sketch comedy troupe, The Kids In The Hall. He popped up in the show's sixth season in two episodes.

Masi Oka

Masi Oka is most famous for playing the biggest hero on Heroes, Hiro Nakamura. That role earned him an Emmy nomination. He also played a more serious role as the medical examiner, Dr. Max Bergman, in the reboot of the '60s show Hawaii Five-0. Oka got to show off his comedic chops in a couple of episodes of Reno 911! as a Japanese translator.

Jeff Foxworthy

Even some of the biggest Reno 911! fans may have missed this very brief cameo. The legendary Jeff Foxworthy. Not only was it brief, but audiences never actually saw Foxworthy in the one episode in which he appeared in the third season of the show. The "redneck" comedian played Fast Eddie McClintock, the "fastest criminal in Reno, and we only very briefly hear his voice over his CB radio as he speeds away from the sheriffs in his black Trans Am.

Whenever new live-action Disney remakes are released, it’s tough to avoid comparing how the stories differ from the animated version, and the new Lilo & Stitch movie is no exception. One point of discourse among fans of the original has been regarding the scientist who created Stitch, Jumba Jookiba, played by Zach Galifianakis this time around. When CinemaBlend chatted with the comedy actor, he shared his different take on the self-proclaimed evil genius behind Experiment 626.

As fans who grew up with the original movie know, the animated Jumba, voiced by the late David Allen Ogden Stiers, has a vague Russian accent, even though he’s an alien from a planet called Quelte Quan. Here’s what Zach Galifianakis had to say about skipping the accent:

Zach Galifianakis was the first actor to be cast in the Lilo & Stitch movie to our knowledge (as originally reported by The Wrap) back in early 2023, just a month before the movie kicked off filming in Oahu, Hawaii. For the most part, Galifianakis’ version of Jumba sounds like his own voice. Per the actor, he might have messed around a bit at first with the voice, and everyone ultimately decided he would not do the accent. As he also shared in our interview:

During our conversation with Galifianakis, he shared that he was “unfamiliar” with Lilo & Stitch when he signed on to the movie, but soon realized there was a “loyal” fanbase behind the 2002 movie they’d be trying to pay homage to. Considering the new Lilo & Stitch movie earned the best Memorial Day weekend ever at the box office, I’d say the fanbase turnout was quite strong for live-action Stitch.

Jumba’s accent wasn’t the only notable change to the character either. He also has a larger role in the movie than his original character did, and is mostly depicted in human form in order for him to more believably be disguised with Pleakley when they try to retrieve Stitch on Earth.

We additionally talked to director Dean Fleischer Camp, who also helmed Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, about why he stands by his decision to remove Captain Gantu from the new movie. Producer Jonathan Eirich also talked to us about why a new character was added in the form of Amy Hill’s Tutu.

You can check out our Lilo & Stitch review, and watch the latest of Disney's live-action remakes in theaters now.

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 is set to debut in roughly two months, so now’s the time we’ll start learning even more about what the next batch of episodes holds in store for people with a Hulu subscription. Admittedly, the Season 4 trailer did a good job of laying out what awaits Charles-Haden Savage, Oliver Putnam and Mabel Mora in their newest adventure, but there are still plenty of questions to be answered, like who many of the new faces in the Only Murders Season 4 cast are playing. Well, we can officially take three names out of that mystery pile, as it’s been revealed who Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria are playing, and their roles are brilliant.

If you’re like me and have been closely following long with news about Only Murders in the Building Season 4’s development, you’ve probably been wondering how many of the big-name actors are playing fictional versions of themselves. It’s a fair question to ask given that’s how Sting, Amy Schumer and Matthew Broderick were handled in past seasons. Well, that will indeed be the case for Levy, Galifianakis and Longoria, because they’ll respectively play Charles, Oliver and Mabel in the in-universe movie about the Only Murders podcast.

Check out this behind-the-scenes photo of these actors alongside Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selina Gomez to see how they compare to the “real” deals:

Whoever chose Levy, Galifianakis and Longoria to star in this world’s Only Murders movie deserves a raise, Sure, Longoria and Galifianakis are noticeably older/younger than Mabel and Oliver, respectively, but I have no doubt they’ll be able to give off the same vibes as these characters, just like Levi will surely do with Charles. On the other hand, maybe we’re in for a twist and these actors will end up playing the Only Murders protagonists pretty differently onscreen. After all, there have been plenty of times, both in fiction and real life, where a film production starts off remaining faithful to its source material, only to take a lot of creative liberties and become something completely different.

In any case, I’m looking forward to not just seeing how this world’s versions of Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria performs their newest roles, but also how they interact with Charles, Oliver and Mabel when the cameras aren’t rolling… the cameras on this fictional movie set, I mean. Other new actors who’ve come aboard for Only Murders in the Building Season 4 include Molly Shannon as an unnamed executive involved with the movie’s production, Kumail Nanjiani, Richard Kind, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Catherine Cohen, Jin Ha, Design Borges, Siena Werber and Lilian Rebelo. Meryl Streep, Michael Cyril Creighton and Da’Vine Joy Randolph will also be back to reprise their established characters.

Only Murders in the Building Season 4 premieres Tuesday, August 27 on Hulu. For other small screen-related inquiries, look through our 2024 TV schedule.

Zach Galifianakis' Alan Garner in The Hanger is easily one of the funniest characters of the 21st Century, and probably in all of cinema history. In a movie that is full of hilarious moments, no one comes close to matching the number of amazing lines that Alan has. So far, there have been three movies in the Hangover franchise, but the first one is far and away the funniest, so here are all of our favorite lines from Alan in the original Hangover.

You probably get this a lot. This isn't the real Caesar's Palace, is it?

Probably the most oft-repeated line from the movie is this classic when the crew are checking into Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas at the beginning of the movie. Just remember, no matter how many times you've heard it in your life, have some sympathy for the people who work at the actual casino. 

You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack, it grew by one. So there were two of us in the wolf pack. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack.

Alan is a lovable weirdo, and his explanation/toast of how he lives his life, as a member of a wolf pack, pretty much says it all. Cutting his hand to be "blood brothers" was going too far though. 

Gambling? Who said anything about gambling? It's not gambling when you know you're gonna win. Counting cards is a foolproof system.

Alan saves the day at the end when they need to raise $80K dollars to pay Chow and get Doug back. Alan, it turns out, is a pretty good card counter. Which is foolproof, as he proves. "Fool" is the operative word there. 

What about the tiger? What if he got out?

Since audiences don't see what actually happens in the night, other than the photos at the end, we're left wondering why there is a chicken, a tiger, and a baby in the room when they wake up. That's a dangerous combination. 

I'm on your side! I hate Godzilla! I hate him too! I hate him! He destroys cities! Please! This isn't your fault. I'll get you some pants.

Mr. Chow (Ken Jeong) jumping out of the trunk of the car is the funniest moment in the movie, and Alan immediately tries to gain his trust in a very Alan way. 

I'm not supposed to be within two hundred feet of a school... or a Chuck E. Cheese.

Ok, Alan is a weirdo, but he's a creep too? This is a line, about schools and kids' pizza places we'd rather not read too deeply into, as we want to like the character. Yikes. 

I didn't know they gave out rings at the Holocaust.

The most dramatic moment of the unseen bender must have been when Stu (Ed Helms) married Jade (Heather Graham). She's not the kind of girl you'd take home to Mom, especially after you've given her your grandmother's ring that she managed to keep hidden through the Holocaust. At least Jade is a sweetheart. 

“Do you know if the hotel is pager friendly?”

Of course, Alan still uses a pager, right? What else would he do? Would anyone trust him with an actual cell phone? The thought is terrifying. 

Don't touch it. Don't even look at it. Go on, get out. You heard me. Don't look at me, either... I'll hit an old man in public.

The only thing for certain with Alan is that nothing is for certain and you never know how he is going to react to anything or anyone. Take, for example, the poor guy at the gas station who just wants to admire the Mercedes. Alan isn't having it and lets him know in no uncertain terms. 

Pants at a time like this? I don't have any...

Alan is the first to discover the tiger in the bathroom and as he tries to explain what's going on, he just doesn't have the time or the inclination to put any pants on. Not at a time like that. 

Is there a payphone bank? Buncha payphones? Business.

After revealing he only uses a pager, it makes sense that he would need to be aware of where the nearest pay phones are. Of course, it's the 21st Century and those aren't really a thing anymore, even in hotels. Luckily, there are phones in the room, which Alan is okay with. 

The Doug we're looking for is a white.

Alan does not mean to be offensive, it's all an innocent mistake when he tries to explain that Mr. Chow is turning over the wrong Doug after they pay him back. Black Doug (Mike Epps) seems like a good dude, just let it go, Alan. 

But you don't know for sure? I have this cousin Marcus who saw one he said it blew his mind I want to make sure I never ever miss out on a Halley's comet.

Halley's Comet comes around once every 75 years and the most recent visit was in 1986. It's going to be a while, Alan, but you've got plenty of time to plan for it. 

It's where I keep all my things. Get a lot of compliments on this. Plus it's not a purse, it's called a satchel. Indiana Jones wears one.

Man purses are a convenient way to carry stuff around, and Alan isn't afraid of the reputation they might convey. He's proud of his handy satchel and one of the greatest action stars of all time in one of the best '80s movies, uses one, so why shouldn't Alan?

I want you to know, Doug, I'm a steel trap. Whatever happens tonight, I will never, ever, ever speak a word of it. Seriously, I don't care what happens. I don't care if we kill someone. You heard me. It's Sin City. I won't tell a soul.

Alan understands the basics and nothing is more basic than "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." Don't tell a soul – and that's before everything happens! 

How's my hair?

Everyone has a little vanity and while wearing a wolf t-shirt with white jeans doesn't phase Alan, he is concerned with how his hair looks. We all are. Even if it's Galifianakis' beard that steals the show. 

I think the cop car part's pretty cool.

One thing that stands out about Alan's weirdness is that it's complimented by his enthusiasm even if it is also misplaced. Like when they discover that somehow they ended up valet parking a police car. It seems like a bad situation, but Alan likes it. 

And we're the three best friends that anyone could have!

Okay, okay, hanging out with Alan for more than about two hours would be maddening. He proves that nicely in the car to pick up Doug. Stu and Phil (Bradley Cooper) are rapping about finding Doug and going home and Alan wants to be a part of it. His choice of songs, an original written by him, is pretty awful. 

Hey, you guys ready to let the dogs out?

Even in 2009, it wasn't cool to reference the Baha Men's "Who Let The Dogs Out." Actually, it wasn't even cool in 2000 when the song came out. Still, Alan is ready to rock, letting all the dogs out. Woof Woof Woof. 

Tigers love pepper. They hate cinnamon.

On one hand, it's nice of Alan to properly season the steak that they are trying to feed to the tiger with the sleeping pills, so they return the cat to Mike Tyson. On the other hand, it's disturbing that Alan is so confident in knowing that tigers like pepper, but no cinnamon. 

Hey, there's skittles in there!

When Mr. Chow gets mad at the boys for not returning his money, he shows his displeasure by smashing the bag he thought the money was in. There wasn't money, but there were Skittles and wow does that set Alan off. Don't mess with the man's candy! 

Oh you know what, next week's no good for me, the Jonas brothers are in town.

Alan wants to run with his new wolf pack, he wants to be best friends forever. Unless it interferes with his Jonas Brothers concert plans. Nothing gets between Alan and the Jonas'.

Okay, well, maybe we should tell that to Rain Man, because he practically bankrupt a casino.

Alan is pretty stupid in many ways, but when it comes to counting cards, he's second only to Dustin Hoffman's famous character in Rain Man. 

I've found a baby before.

Well, this explains why Alan was so comfortable with the baby in the Bjorn across his chest. He's done this all before! Who among us hasn't found a baby before?

Drunk driving. Classic. 

First, isn't it kind of weird that with Doug missing, Phil, Stu, and Alan are all enjoying a nice breakfast by the pool? Setting that aside, Alan's laughing about drunk driving is one of the more uncomfortable laughs of the movie. The three of them can't remember anything but they did valet a car so... yikes. 

Yeah, I checked all the rooms… no one’s there. Check its collar or something.

As if the chicken and the tiger weren't enough, there was also that mystery baby left in the closet of the hotel villa. Who's baby is it? Hard to know when you can't remember anything. If only babies had collars like dogs, Alan's idea would've worked. 

Yeah, maybe after 9/11, where everybody got so sensitive. Thanks a lot, bin Laden.

In the real world, The Hangover was released about eight years after 9/11 and it was kind of just around the time that people started dabbling in jokes about that tragic day in U.S. history. Alan wouldn't have cared either way, he was angry about how security on airplanes changed. 

No, he was skiing in Vermont, it was just during World War II.

Alan has feelings too. In fact, he feels deeply and he is genuinely worried about his future brother-in-law, Doug. He doesn't want Doug to die like his Grandfather during World War Two. Which would've been a few decades before Alan was born, but who's counting?

Uh, if we're sharing beds, I'm bunking with Phil. You cool with that?

By the end of the movie, Doug, Stu, Phil, and Alan might have a real bromance going on, but it doesn't start that way. Alan wants to bunk up with Phil, who is not having it, and who can blame him?

Easy. You just pour kerosene over a ferret, light it on both ends, put it in.

Okay, this is where things get pretty dark when you think about it. How exactly does Alan know so much about lighting cars on fire and why does he think it's best to use living animals? Again, it's best we don't ask too many questions and just let Alan go, he's probably (hopefully) lying about his experience. 

I don't think you should curse around the baby.

Of all the guys to be entrusted with the mysterious baby, Alan would be most people's last choice, but he proves pretty early on that maybe he wouldn't be the worst parent. Of course, moments later he smacks the baby with a car door. Oh well. 

It says here we should work in teams. Who'll be my spotter?

Alan decides early on he's going to learn how to count cards. It's not long into his book before he realizes it's best to work as a Blackjack team. He asks who's with him and no one takes him seriously. Luckily, Alan kept studying. 

When Stu is finally at his wit's end, he tells Alan, "You are literally too stupid to insult."Alan, being Alan, sees that as a compliment, and thanks him for it. And that pretty much sums up everything about the lovable weirdo that he is. 

If you happen to be a character living at the Arconia or even stepping foot in the affluent apartment building, God help you, because there’s a not-insignificant chance you could be murdered within its premises. But one character’s untimely demise each season makes for captivating TV in real life, as Only Murders in the Building has cemented itself as one of the best Hulu TV shows. Only Murders Season 4 is now in the works, with the mystery this time around focused on who gunned down Jane Lynch’s Sazz Pataki, who recurred in the first three seasons.

Hulu subscribers can look forward to Season 4 premiering on the 2024 TV schedule on August 27, with this new batch of episodes seeing the starring characters going to Los Angeles when a Hollywood studio wants to make a movie about their podcast. More importantly in this case, we do know who will be making up the cast for this next batch of episodes. So let’s go over which Only Murders in the Building cast members are returning for Season 4, and which new stars will be accompanying them.

Which Stars Are Returning From Past Seasons?

Steve Martin

As with the following two entries on this list, it’d be weird if Steve Martin didn’t return for Only Murders in the Building Season 4 considering he plays one of the main characters. That said, it’ll be especially important for Charles-Haden Savage to appear in Season 4 considering that not only was Sazz his longtime stunt double and they maintained a unique friendship, but she was killed in his apartment at the end of Only Murders Season 3. So naturally Charles has a personal stake in solving this mystery, though he’ll still need the help of his true crime aficionado cohorts to get to the bottom of what happened.

Martin Short

Martin Short’s Oliver Putnam is back in Broadway’s good graces following the successful opening of Death Rattle Dazzle in the Season 3 finale, and much of that was him substituting for the lead role at the last minute. It remains to be seen if we’ll see him tackle another Broadway production during Season 4, though even if that’s the case, needless to say we won’t spend as much time following the making of the new play given. It’s also important to mention that Only Murders Season 4 taking place partially in Los Angeles will allow him to reunite with someone we’ll talk about shortly.

Selena Gomez

We found out our main trio of characters with Selena Gomez’s Mabel Mora. Unlike Charles and Oliver though, Mabel no longer lives at the Arconia, as her aunt sold the apartment and she moved out in “CoBro.” It still hasn’t been revealed where Mabel is living now, but obviously she’ll still be spending plenty of time at the building spending time with her older friends as they attempt to solve Sazz’s murder. We also have yet to see if Mabel will maintain a long-distance relationship with Jesse William’s Tobert in Season 4 since he moved to Los Angeles, or if their time together is over.

Meryl Streep

Only Murders in the Building Season 3 saw Oliver Putnam forming a romantic relationship with Loretta Durkin, one of the actresses he cast for Death Rattle Dazzle. Although there was a period where it seemed like Loretta might have been Ben Glenroy’s killer, that fortunately wasn’t the case, and by the end of the season, she was preparing to head to Los Angeles with Jeremy Shamos’ Dickie, her biological son, to pursue new professional opportunities. Well, good news for those of you who enjoyed Meryl Streep’s latest small screen performance, as she’ll continue recurring as Loretta in Season 4. I’d like to think this means that she and Oliver are still together, though it’s hard to tell going off of just the Only Murders Season 4 trailer.

Michael Cyril Creighton

After being a recurring character in the first two seasons of Only Murders in the Building, Michael Cyril Creighton’s Howard Morris was upgraded to the main cast in Season 3. It’s unclear right now if he’ll retain that status in Season 4 or be bumped back down to recurring, but either way, Howard will be back! Season 3 saw him working as Oliver’s assistant during the making of Death Rattle Dazzle., and we also learned how he had acting aspirations in his younger years. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be traveling to Hollywood with Charles, Oliver and Mabel, so no auditions in Tinsel Town for him.

Da’Vine Joy Randolph

Every case in Only Murders in the Building has involved Detective Donna Williams in one form or another, and that won’t be changing in Season 4. While we don’t know yet if Da’Vine Joy Randolph’s character will be first on the scene to investigate Sazz Pataki’s death or if she’ll come into the proceedings later on, one thing we can count on is her getting fed up with Charles, Oliver and Mabel’s shenanigans pretty quickly.

Which Stars Are New For Season 4?

Molly Shannon

So far Molly Shannon is the only new addition to Only Murders in the Building Season 4 for whom any concrete character details have been shared. The Saturday Night Live alum is reportedly playing “a high-powered LA businesswoman who finds herself drawn into the world of the investigation in NY.” Now that the Only Murders Season 4 trailer has been released, it seems like she’s the driving force behind the movie about Charles, Oliver and Mabel’s podcast, as she needs them to sign over their life rights in order to make there project happen. Shannon’s other recent TV credits include being a series regular on Max’s The Other Two and Showtime’s I Love That For You, both of which have ended.

Eva Longoria

Eva Longoria will play a fictional version of herself in Only Murders in the Building Season 4, as she’s been cast to play Mabel Mora in the film adaptation of the Only Murders podcast. What’s unclear is if that will be the extent of her involvement this season or if she’ll be directly wrapped into the investigation. In addition to this Hulu series, Longoria, who also recently directed the Hulu movie Flamin’ Hot, also has Land of Women coming up, which will be streamable with an Apple TV+ subscription.

Eugene Levy

Way back in the day, Eugene Levy and Martin Short performed together on the sketch comedy series SCTV, and the two later appeared in Steve Martin’s Father of the Bride movies. Now Levy is finally getting to reunite with these two fellow comedic heavyweights thanks to Only Murders in the Building. In fact, the connection between them runs even closer on this series, as the fictional version of Levy will play Charles-Haden Savage in this Only Murders movie.

Zach Galifianakis

The list of comedic talents taking part in Only Murders Season 4 keeps growing, as Zach Galifianakis will also appear. Not only will his fictional self be playing Oliver Putnam in the Only Murders movie, it's been teased that he'll play an "integral" role in the investigation, though exactly how so remains to be seen Galifianakis, of course, is best known for playing Alan in the Hangover movies, but he's also well known for hosting Between Two Ferns and leading the TV show Baskets, as well as his roles in Birdman, The LEGO Batman Movie, A Wrinkle in Time and Ron's Gone Wrong.

Kumail Nanjiani

Kumail Nanjiani is also set to appear in a recurring capacity on Only Murders Season 4. Like with Eva Mendes and Zach Galifianakis, his character is also to be important to this season's investigation, though that still doesn't rule out him playing a fictional version of himself. Nanjiani's major credits from the last several years include Eternals, Migration, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Welcome to Chippendale's, the latter of which is also a Hulu-exclusive series. 2024 also see him starring in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

Richard Kind

Yet another comedic heavyweight has joined Only Murders in the Building Season 4’s cast. This time, it’s Richard Kind, who has an impressive collection of both film and TV work, ranging from A Bug’s Life and A Serious Mind to Mad About You, Spin City and Curb Your Enthusiasm. No details about his role in the Hulu series have been revealed yet, though if I had to guess, he’s probably playing a character rather than a fictional version of himself. The eyepatch he's wearing certainly makes a strong case for this.

Daphne Rubin-Vega

In the world of stage acting, the Tony-nominated Daphne Rubin-Vega is best known for originating the roles of Mimi Marquez in Rent and Lucy in Jack Goes Boating, to name just a few of the productions she’s participated in. As far as her onscreen work goes, that includes the Jack Goes Boating film adaptation, In the Heights, Smash, Katy Keene and The Changeling. Whomever Rubin-Vega ends up playing in Only Murders in the Building, hopefully the role makes use of her singing talents.

Catherine Cohen

Acting-wise, Catherine Cohen has popped up in movies and TV shows like Broad City, The Lovebirds, Home Sweet Home Alone and What We Do in the Shadows. However, she’s best known for her 2022 Netflix comedy special The Twist...? She's Gorgeous, and her comedy act in general uniquely includes cabaret-style songs. It remains to be seen if that will factor into the character she plays on Only Murders in the Building.

Jin Ha

Jin Ha is another actor who’s built quite the resume of stage productions, most notable playing Aaron Burr in Hamilton on Broadway a few years back. But as far as TV work goes, his two main claims to fame are the Hulu miniseries Devs and the Apple TV+ series Pachinko. He also retimed with Devs creator Alex Garland for the movie Civil War. Now we wait to learn how he’ll fit into the events that unfold in Only Murders in the Building Season 4.

Melissa McCarthy

The Only Murders in the Building Season 4 trailer revealed that Melissa McCarthy will be along for the ride for this latest installment of the Hulu show. But in my continuing efforts to sound like a broken record, we don’t know yet if she’s playing a fictional version of herself or a separate character. Some of the actress’ recent appearances include Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Superintelligence, Thunderforce, The Little Mermaid and Unfrosted.

Keep your eyes peeled on this space for more casting updates about Only Murders in the Building Season 4, as you can count on the lineup of participating talent growing a lot bigger. Feel free to also look through the new Hulu releases if you’re wanting to enjoy more content from the streaming service.

In 1940, one year after Batman debuted in the pages of Detective Comics #27, a clownish-looking villain named The Joker came to Gotham City to wreak havoc in Batman #1. It didn’t take long for him to become the Dark Knight’s arch-nemesis in the comic book pages, to the point that all these decades later, Joker is arguably just as well known as Batman himself. With that fame, of course, has come numerous adaptations of the Clown Prince of Crime, most prominently on the big screen.

To that point, we’re here to rank all the major movie portrayals of The Joker. And to be clear, this list will only be discussing live-action and animated versions of the character who’ve appeared in DC movies that had theatrical runs. There’s a lot more to keep track of if we count the numerous direct-to-video DC movies that have been released, but keeping our scope narrowed to big screen offerings keeps things at a more manageable level.

8. Barry Keoghan

The only reason Barry Keoghan’s Joker ranks in last place on this list is because we’ve barely seen him. He’s only heard and indirectly shown for roughly a minute within the finalized cut of The Batman, and then there was the deleted scene between the villain and Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader released shortly after the movie. 

Still, all we know so far about this version of the Clown Prince of Crime is that he’s heavily disfigured, and that he and Batman tangled sometime prior to The Riddler’s reign of terror. No doubt Keoghan’s ranking on this list will be higher if he plays a prominent role in The Batman: Part II, but for now, there just isn’t material to work with and make a proper judgement.

7. Jared Leto

Suicide Squad marked the first time Joker appeared in a movie that didn’t revolve around him fighting Batman, and that was for the best. The execution for the Clown Prince of Crime didn’t work, from the strange choices with his physical appearance (especially that “Damaged” forehead tattoo), to him barely contributing to the story in any notable way, to Jared Leto’s performance not feeling intimidating in the slightest. 

It’s almost as if the actor was trying too hard to play the character weirdly, which he continued to do during his few minutes of screen time in Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Let’s breathe a sigh of relief that the Leto-led Joker movie never happened, and that with the DCEU now over, we’ll almost certainly never see him again.

6. Zach Galifianakis

There’s nothing particularly wrong with Zach Galifianakis’ Joker, it’s just that he feels more like a standard baddie in The LEGO Batman Movie rather than one giving off the vibes of Batman’s arch-nemesis. For one thing, this spinoff to The LEGO Movie was, like its predecessor, comedic and chiefly geared towards children, so this Joker was presented as more clownish and goofy rather than sinister and terrifying. 

There’s nothing wrong with that, as it clearly worked for the story being told about Joker enacting his biggest plan yet after learning that Batman didn’t see him as an important villain in his life. But when held up against the other portrayals on this list, Galifianakis’ Joker comes across as generic.

5. Cesar Romero

Like another version of The Joker on this list, Cesar Romero primarily portrayed the character on television, namely the live-action Batman TV series that ran from 1966 to 1968. But shortly after Season 1 aired, Batman: The Movie hit theaters, and as such Romero qualifies for the rankings. 

This movie saw Joker teaming up with Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman, and just like the TV show, it leaned heavily into the campy tone. So, while this Joker will appeal more towards people who like the Silver Age of Comics and don’t mind him being more playful rather than a frightening threat, as far as performing this version of the character went, Romero continued to knock it out of the park.

4. Joaquin Phoenix

In 2019, Joker showed audiences how the Clown Prince of Crime’s origin story would unfold if Batman wasn’t around. Joaquin Phoenix’s Arthur Fleck was depicted as a party clown and failed stand-up comic suffering from mental illness, and a few too many traumatizing events led to his descent into madness and adopting his clown-like criminal persona. 

There’s no question that Phoenix gave a stellar performance, as evidenced by him winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. However, since this is a Joker who’s about as far from his comic book roots as possible, it’s hard to put him above the final three men on this list. Still, there are plenty of people looking forward to seeing more from him in the 2024 movie release, Joker: Folie à Deux.

3. Jack Nicholson

More than 20 years after Caesar Romero hammed it up as Joker on the Batman TV series, Jack Nicholson put a more unsettling twist on the character in Tim Burton’s Batman. Although this version of Joker’s original identity was known from the start rather than kept shrouded in secrecy as is usually the case, knowing that he started out as gangster Jack Napier, who murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents, didn’t detract from watching him become a theatrical lunatic after falling into that vat of chemicals during his first encounter with Batman. 

Granted, there are times where it feels like Nicholson is just playing a more unhinged version of himself, but overall, his performance still holds up quite nicely after all this time.

2. Mark Hamill

As with Caesar Romero, Mark Hamill’s exploits as The Joker are chiefly known from TV, specifically the DC Animated Universe incarnation of the character he voiced in Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman Adventures and other projects. But because Batman: Mask of the Phantasm shifted from a direct-to-video release to a theatrical one, we can thankfully mention him on this list. 

Not only did Hamill bring the same delightful blend of comedy and terror that he did on the small screen, but because this movie didn’t have to deal with the same broadcast TV restrictions, his Joker was finally able to kill and drop some more suggestive lines. Even just judging Hamill’s Joker within the lens of only this movie, he’s more than earned ranking in second place. It’s also a reminder about what a shame it is he’ll never voice Joker again.

1. Heath Ledger

Anyone who followed along with the news cycle surrounding The Dark Knight’s production will remember that many were skeptical Heath Ledger would deliver a compelling Joker performance, especially once it was revealed this version of the character would look much different than how he’s usually depicted. Well, not only did Ledger prove the doubters wrong, he’s still considered by many to be the definitive cinematic Joker, and he went on to posthumously win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar. 

Granted, this version of the villain didn’t drop a ton of actual jokes, but watching him envelop Gotham City in chaos and try to prove that no one is incorruptible not only earns him the #1 spot on this list, but makes him one of cinema’s most iconic villains across all genres.

There will be more actors who play Joker on the big screen in the years to come, and once we see their performances, come back here to see where they rank amongst their cohorts. Until then, use your Max subscription to stream many of Joker’s film and TV appearances, both live-action and animated, to your heart’s content.

Some of the best talk show hosts have been celebrities, and vice versa, throughout the history of this celebrated medium. However, that doesn’t mean just anyone can hold the desk equally. Keep that in mind as you take in this list of famous celebs who tried to make a talk show happen, but just couldn’t hold their own.

Regis Philbin - The Regis Philbin Show - 1981 - 1982

Throughout the history of Regis Philbin's best movie appearances, as well as his career as a legendary talk show host, the man made a name for himself as someone who knew how to talk to people. But even with his resume of success bookending The Regis Philbin Show's 1981-1982 run, there was still room to learn as this short-lived endeavor proved.

Alan Thicke - Thicke Of The Night - 1983 - 1984

Could Alan Thicke have made Thicke of the Night last under more ideal circumstances? Maybe, but then again, any show that tried to take on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson kind of deserved to be put through the wringer. On the plus side, Thicke wasn’t too far off from starring in Growing Pains, where he’d show us his smile again.

Joan Rivers - The Late Show - 1986 - 1988

Joan Rivers’ “permanent guest host” status on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show was exactly why the comedy icon landed her own series, The Late Show. Directly competing with that NBC landmark in a live program for the Fox network, this albatross supposedly ended the long friendship between Rivers and Carson.

Pat Sajak - The Pat Sajak Show - 1989 - 1990

Being a game show host isn’t the same as being a talk show host. Just ask game show icon Pat Sajak, whose own attempts at crossover success with The Pat Sajak Show never landed. Low ratings took this show out of commission, with Sajak not even hosting the final episode of his own show. After which point the only gaffes Pat would witness were those made on Wheel of Fortune.

Dennis Miller - The Dennis Miller Show - 1992

Sometimes talk shows fail because of not playing to the right audience. In the case of SNL vet Dennis Miller, we would see him flourish through HBO’s Dennis Miller Live program between 1994 and 2002. However, the syndication market didn’t exactly pick up on the man’s unique vibe, which is more than likely why The Dennis Miller Show never made it out of 1992.

Chevy Chase - The Chevy Chase Show - 1993

One of the most infamous late-night flameouts of all time, The Chevy Chase Show saw the SNL comedy legend trying to compete in the late-night wars on behalf of the fledgling Fox network. Not only did Chase’s show fail, but it was the continuation of a long-standing curse that TV titan still encounters to this day.

Jon Stewart - The Jon Stewart Show - 1993 - 1995

"Cancellation should not be confused with failure." David Letterman imparted those words to Jon Stewart as The Jon Stewart Show was literally canceled the day of that very interview. An unsuccessful jump from MTV to syndication could be the major factor that was to blame, though Letterman’s words eventually rang true when Stewart went on to become The Daily Show’s longtime host in 1999. 

Charles Grodin - The Charles Grodin Show - 1995-1998

Charles Grodin’s expertise in playing a curmudgeon made him a popular guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. So one could think placing that energy behind the desk would be a recipe for success, and that’s what CNBC had hoped when debuting The Charles Grodin Show. Twenty-six episodes later, that assumption was tested, and proven false.

Keenen Ivory Wayans - The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show - 1997 - 1998

With the magnetism that propelled him to success in movies and with TV’s In Living Color, surely Keenen Ivory Wayans had the juice to turn late night on its head, right? Nope. Lasting only a few short months, The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show was out like a flash. Judging by Keenen’s claims that he wasn’t really given the free reign he’d expected with the series, it’s no surprise why.

Magic Johnson - The Magic Hour - 1998

Eight weeks was all it took for NBA legend Magic Johnson to flame out on the talk show circuit. The Magic Hour was anything but, with critics clearly not digging the man’s style when it came to holding court on TV. Save for an infamous episode with one of his staunchest critics, Howard Stern, there wasn’t much enchantment to be found here.

Martin Short - The Martin Short Show - 1999 - 2000

The bad news is that certified comedy legend Martin Short didn’t last very long as the host of The Martin Short Show. However, the silver lining to be had is the fact that this short engagement in the land of talk shows did give us one of his most memorable characters, as this was the launching pad for one Jiminy Glick. 

Queen Latifah - The Queen Latifah Show - 1999 - 2001/2013 - 2015

Sometimes it all comes down to timing and ratings, both of which seemed to be the death knell for The Queen Latifah Show in its two separate incarnations. The 1999-2001 run could be seen as ahead of its time, while the 2013-2015 run saw a promising start leading to declining ratings. 

Wayne Brady - The Wayne Brady Show - 2001 - 2004

It’s still hard to believe that the charming and quick-witted Wayne Brady couldn’t make it in daytime talk. Though the Let’s Make A Deal host is doing quite well for himself now, The Wayne Brady Show was a bit of a stumbling block on his career path. Luckily, right before the show went off the air, Wayne’s infamous Chappelle's Show sketch went to air, and it gave him a win that overshadowed the whole business.

Zach Galifianakis - Late World with Zach - 2002

Zach Galifianakis’ Late World with Zach on MTV is a particularly notable example of what happens when a talent like this Hangover star lands at the wrong time. All of the ingredients were there, as MTV let Zach be Zach; but people weren’t clued into the gag just yet, because many of Galifianakis' best movies weren't out yet. By the time Between Two Ferns kicked off though, the world was ready, and a confrontational legend was born.

Caroline Rhea - The Caroline Rhea Show - 2002 - 2003

When a notable talk show host leaves, there’s always the question of who carries on their legacy of schtick. As The Rosie O’Donnell Show came to a close, Caroline Rhea’s talk show, The Caroline Rhea Show, attempted to pass that torch to the Sabrina the Teenage Witch legend. The networks, and audiences, were not exactly supportive, and after 195 episodes, it was no more.

Sharon Osbourne - The Sharon Osbourne Show - 2003 - 2004

Before Sharon Osbourne's "embarrassing" departure from The Talk, she struck it out on her own to try and parlay some of her reality TV fame into a chat show. And yet, The Sharon Osbourne Show didn't last, as the show failed to land a following, leaving Sharon to let it die a quiet, un-renewed death. 

John McEnroe - McEnroe - 2004

Tennis is a grueling sport, but talk shows can be even more of a battlefield if you’re not careful. John McEnroe learned that the hard way during a handful of months in 2004, when his series McEnroe went from a critically panned debut to a critically panned finale. Even his most dedicated fans have probably overlooked it, with a mere mention of the series prompting many exclamations of, “You can’t be serious!”

Megan Mullally - The Megan Mullally Show - 2006 - 2007

Sometimes our preconceptions get the better of us, and shows like The Megan Mullally Show suffer as a result. As audiences were taken aback by Mullally failing to be her Will & Grace character in real life, there was nowhere to go but down for this daytime talk show.

George Lopez - Lopez Tonight - 2009 - 2011

If it wasn’t for Conan O’Brien, Lopez Tonight may have had a healthy run on TBS. Though it seemed his hiring could have boosted George Lopez’s show, the only shake-up it got was being moved into a later time slot, with weakened ratings. However, this all happened with O’Brien trying to avoid any sort of bad blood along the way, with the host even paying tribute to this slain series on its final night of air.

Wanda Sykes - The Wanda Sykes Show - 2009 - 2010

Following in the footsteps of Joan Rivers’ The Late Show and Chevy Chase’s The Chevy Chase Show, Fox really wanted to make late-night happen with comedian Wanda Sykes. Unfortunately for the network, The Wanda Sykes Show was such a disappointment that it hasn’t even tried to mount another original program in that later evening block since. 

Katie Couric - Katie - 2012 - 2014

A staple of NBC’s Today, seeing Katie Couric go to daytime talk felt like a lateral move. Moving to ABC to do so was certainly the most shocking turn of it all, at least until Katie was mutually canceled by its star and overseers. What started as a good run soon fell into a slump, leaving this enterprise grounded by 2014.

Bethenny Frankel - Bethenny - 2012 - 2014

How’s this for a story? The Real Housewives of New York alum Bethenny Frankel tried to kickstart her talk show Bethenny, only for it to initially get shelved. Fate seemed to smile on the entrepreneur as the show was revived for a run between 2012 and 2014. Only 170 episodes would be produced before the hammer came down, freeing Frankel up for appearances on shows like Shark Tank. 

Kris Jenner - Kris - 2013

It wasn’t cancellation that ended Kris’ brief 2013 run, as the talk show fronted by Kris Jenner was only being tested when it aired. Coincidentally the most notable episode was its finale, which saw Kanye West showing off the first photos of her granddaughter North. Ratings spiked, but it couldn’t save this ship from sinking. 

Khloé Kardashian - Kocktails With Khloé - 2016

A TV show where the host drinks with their guests? Not a bad move, especially when someone with clout like Khloé Kardashian could get the concept greenlit for cable. Unfortunately for Kocktails with Khloé, the show struck out after 14 episodes; more than likely due to the perfect storm of airing on cable and audience feedback sounding rather disappointed with the overall product.

Harry Connick Jr. - Harry - 2016 - 2018

For someone as adept at conversation and shenanigans as Harry Connick Jr., to fail in the talk show landscape always feels like a waste. Harry capitalized on the former American Idol judge’s star power and charisma, but even then audiences weren’t buying as heavily as when he was a part of Fox’s former reality show fixture.

Sarah Silverman - I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman - 2017 - 2018

There still isn’t a clear answer as to why Hulu canceled I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman. A mashup of talk show and sketch show, Silverman took on the tough issues of our modern times with her trademark sense of humor. Twenty-one episodes still don’t seem like a long enough run, but that’s sadly where things ended.

Lilly Singh - A Little Late With Lilly Singh - 2019 - 2021

With Carson Daly giving up the throne of Last Call with Carson Daly, NBC made what seemed like a smart move. By tapping famous YouTuber Lilly Singh for her show A Little Late with Lilly Singh, the network was clearly trying to get the younger generation to tune into this tested timeslot. It didn’t work, even with some changes to the format in the second season, and with this show’s demise also came that of the 1:35 A.M. slot at NBC.

Kathy Griffin - Kathy - 2012 - 2013

Giving Kathy Griffin her own talk show, after years of being banned from shows like Ellen and The View, was probably a bit of a surprise. In fact, the only thing that would have been more surprising is if Kathy had actually lasted past its short spell of 24 episodes on Bravo.

ALF - Alf’s Hit Talk Show - 2004

ALF’s Hit Talk Show tried pretty hard in its extremely brief run to make TV Land viewers stay up a bit later. Not even guests like Merv Griffin and Doris Roberts, not to mention professional sidekick/Tonight Show legend Ed McMahon could push this affair past seven episodes. 

Russell Brand - Brand X With Russell Brand - 2012 - 2013

You’d think a talk show with Russell Brand at the helm would be something so controversial you’d have at least heard of it. That appears to not be the case, as FX failed to crack the same molds it had broken with shows like The Shield with its two-season run of Brand X with Russell Brand. 

Bonnie Hunt - The Bonnie Hunt Show - 2008 - 2010

Bonnie Hunt not only had the comedic chops and kindness to host something like The Bonnie Hunt Show, but she infused it with a creative spin. Thanks to guests being able to enter the set through various methods of excitement, like a firepole, there seemed to be some magic in giving the Cheaper by the Dozen star a daytime talk slot. Two seasons, and even a couple of award nominations later, it was lights out.

Fran Drescher - The Fran Drescher Tawk Show - 2010

For six seasons and 146 episodes, Fran Drescher charmed the world as Fran Fine on CBS’ The Nanny. Sadly, that sort of effortless affability didn’t help The Fran Drescher Tawk Show make it past 16 episodes in 2010. And yes, that did include a humorous reunion with her co-star Charles Shaughnessy. 

Even with the most pleasing personality, the best time slot, and a pedigree in the business, talk shows are a concept that can still present a gamble. Many celebrities have tried, and many more probably will in the future; because when you can make it as a talk show host, you can pretty much write your own ticket from that point on.

Following Walt Disney Studios having a ton of commercial success over the last decade with live-action remakes of beloved animated movies, a live-action Lilo & Stitch is set to be among 2025 movie releases, and is already spoofing other Disney movies with its marketing. The upcoming Disney movie will tell the story of how a blue alien on the run finds an unlikely family in a young Hawaiian girl, who is an outcast and being raised by her older sister in the fallout of their parents’ death. The cast for Lilo & Stitch is really coming together with a mix of fresh faces, original cast members and big names.

The live-action movie helmed by Dean Fleischer Camp following the director previously making the adorable Oscar-nominated movie, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. The screenplay for the new Lilo & Stitch was written by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright and Mike Van Waes. Check out the updated cast list for the exciting release.

Maia Kealoha

Starring as the live-action Lilo is Maia Kealoha, who will see her debut acting credit with Lilo And Stitch. The young actress lives in Hawaii and looks like a real-life Lilo, considering she spends days on the beaches of the Big Island catching waves along with being an accomplished dancer as well. From her Instagram account:

Kealoha also became 2023 Mini Miss Kona Coffee prior to nabbing the role of Lilo. It’ll be exciting to see the adorable character come to life with her portrayal of the Disney character. During press for Moana 2, CinemaBlend met the actress, and she seems absolutely perfect for the role.

Chris Sanders

It has also been reported that the original voice behind Stitch, Chris Sanders, will reprise his voice role for the live-action remake. Sanders not only provided the iconic voice of the blue alien, he also originated the idea for Disney and co-wrote and co-directed the modern animation classic alongside Dean DeBlois. It's a good thing Sanders is once again providing the voice, as I can’t imagine anyone else doing so. Stitch's CG look was recently revealed at D23 Expo. Check it out:

He's so cute and fluffy! Fans have been mixed overall on the new look of the character.

Sydney Agudong 

After Tia Carrere helped bring authenticity to the original Lilo & Stitch as the voice actress behind Lilo’s older sister, Nani, the role has been cast for live action. Hawaiian-native Sydney Agudong will play Nani following the actress being in a few acting credits so far, including the TV movie Infamously In Love and an episode of NCIS. Here’s what she looks like:

The 22-year-old will play a key role as Lilo's guardian who is working overtime to provide for her fellow orphaned sister. So far, the casting news of Agudong has led to discussion online about colorism per CNN, since Agudong appears to have lighter skin than the animated character.

Kaipo Dudoit

Another relative newcomer part of the core Lilo & Stitch cast is Kaipo Dudoit, who will play the role of Nani’s boyfriend, David. The role was originally voiced by Jason Scott Lee. Check out what the actor looks like:

Dudoit was actually reportedly cast as a replacement in the Lilo & Stitch movie following Kahiau Machado initially getting the role, and then losing the project allegedly due to social media posts being uncovered of him using racial slurs. We can’t wait to see the surfing scene come to life with the above cast!

Zach Galifianakis 

Zach Galifianakis was the first actor to be announced as part of the live-action Lilo & Stitch in February 2023. The comedy favorite known for starring in The Hangover movies is reportedly going to play Stitch’s creator, Dr. Jumba Jookiba. Jumba is a self-proclaimed evil genius who made Stitch, also known as Experiment 626, along with 628 other illegal genetic experiments, explored in the sequels and Disney Channel series. Over the course of the original movie, Jumba ventures to Hawaii to snatch back Stitch from his newfound ohana.

Billy Magnussen 

And reportedly playing Agent Wendy Pleakley is Billy Magnussen of Aladdin, No Time To Die and Made For Love fame. Pleakley is a member of the Galactic Federation, which is after Stitch, and he becomes the reluctant partner of Jumba in their mission to capture Experiment 626. Magnussen seems like a great fit to embody the goofy character, so I'm certainly curious how Disney will decide to portray both Pleakley and Jumba in live-action.

Courtney B. Vance

Following Ving Rhames playing the lovable role of Cobra Bubbles in animated form, Courtney B. Vance has been cast as the live-action version. Cobra Bubbles is a social worker who is tracking Nani's progress as Lilo’s guardian following their parents' death. And, as revealed later in the movie, he’s also a former CIA agent. Vance has an impressive resume in Hollywood that spans 40 years, including memorable roles in The Hunt For Red October, Hamburger Hill and The Preacher’s Wife.

Tia Carrere

The original voice behind Nani, Tia Carrere, is returning to Lilo And Stitch, this time as a new character named Mrs. Kekoa. She is a Hawaii native who is also well-known for starring in Wayne’s World and True Lies. When CinemaBlend spoke to the actress in 2022 on behalf of the movie’s 20th anniversary, she shared her interest in returning in live-action, along with her hopes for more Hawaiian music on the soundtrack, including the voice of herself. I imagine with her on board, her wishes will come to fruition.

Amy Hill 

Also joining the live-action Lilo And Stitch following her voice role in the original movie is Amy Hill. While Hill was Mrs. Hasagawa, a little old lady with glasses in the town, in the animated version, she’ll play a new character named Tūtū for the upcoming movie. Hill is known for her roles in That’s So Raven, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and 50 First Dates.

A ton of the main cast is set for the live-action Lilo & Stitch. A few notable characters yet to be announced in the cast at the moment include the Grand Councilwoman and Captain Gantu, along with the other children Lilo goes to school with. We’ll keep updating this cast list as we learn more about this release. Lilo & Stitch hits theaters on May 23, 2025.

Lilo & Stitch’s live-action ohana is coming together! After it was previously announced last month that Zach Galifianakis was the first actor to be cast in the upcoming Disney movie, Lilo has now been cast as well. Newcomer Maia Kealoha will reportedly lead the Hawaii-set remake of the 2002 beloved animated movie from the House of Mouse. 

The Lilo & Stitch casting news was first reported by Knight Edge Media and then confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter. The movie is set to be helmed by Marcel the Shell With Shoes On filmmaker Dean Fleischer Camp from a script by Chris Kekaniokalani Bright

The live-action adaptation will mark the young Hawaiian actress’ first acting credit, though she recently became 2023 Mini Miss Kona Coffee, which takes place in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She already looks like the live-action Lilo in this recent photo from the competition’s Instagram: 

Ahead of the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie expected to be released in May 2024, it looks like the production is quietly rounding up its cast. In terms of Lilo, the movie is very much sticking with the roots of the original 2002 movie regarding the character’s age. What remains to be seen is how her alien best friend will be adapted out of the 2D animation world he was born into. 

We don’t know for sure who Galifianakis is playing right now, but The Wrap reported last month that he’ll be playing the role of Pleakley, an eccentric one-eyed alien who is tasked with capturing the mischievous Stitch and taking him back to prison alongside his creator Jumba. We’ll also be curious to see how the production decides to adapt the alien creatures as well. Oh, and who’s going to play Lilo’s bigger sister, Nani? 

Lilo was originally voiced by Daveigh Chase, who did not echo the Hawaiian roots of her iconic character. A young Dakota Fanning additionally took on the role for the direct-to-video sequel. Nani was played by Tia Carrere, who was born and raised in Hawaii, and assisted in making the original movie authentic for the Hawaiian people, as she shared with CinemaBlend for the movie’s 20th anniversary last year. 

For the time being, it doesn’t sound like the movie’s original creators, Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, are involved in this new iteration. Sanders is the original voice of Stitch, and it remains to be seen if he’ll return to voice the alien he helped create. 

While we wait for more details about the live-action Lilo & Stitch, the next live-action Disney movie to get ready for is The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey as an updated version of Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. It opens in theaters on May 26, about a year before we meet the new Lilo. 

After the Disney Renaissance concluded in 1999 with Tarzan, the Mouse House’s theatrical output was more hit and miss in the immediate years after, but one of the most successful movies during this period was 2002’s Lilo & Stitch. The Hawaii-set story about a young girl who adopts a chaotic alien she thinks is a dog was both a critical and commercial hit, and since 2018, a live-action Lilo & Stitch remake has been in development. Nearly half a decade later, the upcoming movie has finally cast its first star, and it’s a comedy fan-favorite.

Zach Galifianakis of The Hangover and Baskets fame has reportedly closed a deal to appear in the live-action take on Lilo & Stitch. Unfortunately, THR didn’t have any details about who Galifianakis will play. The outlet also mentioned that the search is underway to find actress to play Lilo and her older sister Nana. Stitch, of course, will be a CGI creation. This will be Galifianakis’ first Disney movie since A Wrinkle in Time, where he played The Happy Medium. However, he did voice the title character in 2021’s Ron’s Gone Wrong, which was the first animated movie released by the then-newly-named 20th Century Studios after it was acquired by Disney.

Looking over the original Lilo & Stitch’s lineup of players, there isn’t a human character who’s a good fit for Zach Galifianakis to play, although as is often the case with these live-action Disney remakes, it’s possible this remake will bring in some brand-new people. However, pushing that option aside, Galifiankis seems like a solid fit for Dr. Jumba Jookiba, the alien mad scientist who created Stitch and was sent to Earth to retrieve the little terror with Agent Wendy Pleakley. Jumba was voiced by David Ogden Stiers in the original, and if Galifianakis were to play the character, it’d be interesting to see if he would appear on-camera and be made up to look like an alien, or if Jumba would also be entirely CGI, and Galifianakis would voice him and possibly do motion capture. If the remake’s version of Jumba looks anything like his animated counterpart, I’m leaning towards the latter option.

UPDATE: The Wrap is hearing that Zach Galifianakis will actually be playing Pleakley, but this has yet to be confirmed.

Dean Fleischer Camp, who recently directed the Oscar-nominated Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, is helming the live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, and Chris Kekaniokalani Bright is writing the script. The original Lilo & Stitch was written and directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the latter of whom is working on a live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon after having previously directed the original animated trilogy. Rather than being given a theatrical run, the new Lilo & Stitch is expected to be released directly to Disney+ subscribers, which is also how Lady and the Tramp, Pinocchio and the upcoming Peter Pan & Wendy were handled.

Now that Zach Galifianakis has been cast in Lilo & Stitch, hopefully this means more actors will be announced in the coming weeks, and that production might begin before the year is finished. Keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress while you read through our coverage of 2023 new movie releases.

It’s awards season, and during this time of the year, we often talk about the crazy lengths certain actors go to really delve into their roles. For example, Lady Gaga stayed in her House of Gucci accent for almost a year, and Andrew Garfield learned how to sing ahead of Tick, Tick… Boom!. But here’s a throwback movie fact we don’t talk about enough: Ed Helms full-on removed a tooth to play Stu in The Hangover. 

Back when the movie came out, it was reported that Ed Helms actually had his tooth pulled ahead of starring in the movie with Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis. But now with nearly 15 years have passed since The Hangover's release, Helms spoke about it in greater detail. During his episode of Hot Ones, the actor said this: 

The first part of the story is that they tried other options (thankfully).  Ed Helms put a marker to one of his teeth to make it look like he’d lost a tooth on Stu’s fateful night in Las Vegas. However, it did not look good. Helms continued: 

The dentist removed the crown placed when Ed Helms was 20 years younger, and for three months, the actor was visibly missing a tooth to star in The Hangover. He also said this: 

Talk about commitment! Even though it was an implant in his mouth, to even go to the dentist for a role and have them take out an implant and then replace it goes to show that Ed Helms was willing to go the extra mile. Then the former Office star would wear a retainer to play Andy Bernard during that time. Pretty crazy, right? 

That’s not the only wild thing to happen during the production of The Hangover. The Las Vegas cops were also called while the movie was being shot thanks to Ken Jeong going nude for an improvised sequence. 

The Hangover hit theaters in the summer of 2009 and was one of the biggest successes of that year. It was the sixth highest grossing movie of 2009 domestically under Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Up, The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Avatar. On the worldwide charts, it was the tenth in line, which is incredible for a comedy that reportedly cost $35 million to produce.

 Plus, the careers of just about every member of The Hangover core cast are doing incredible over a decade after the film’s release. So in that sense, it seems like pulling a tooth was worth it for Ed Helms. Just don’t expect a The Hangover sequel anytime soon. 

Sadly, Hollywood and the world as a whole have said goodbye to a number of legends over the past few weeks. Many are still feeling the pain that was losing Betty White just shy of her 100th birthday and, now, the comedy world has lost another great in Louie Anderson. Celebrities who have worked and/or had experiences with him have shared touching tributes to the talented comedian following his death at the age of 68 last week. Now, Anderson’s Baskets co-star, Zach Galifianakis, has shared some loving words of his own for his departed friend.

Zach Galifianakis worked with Louie Anderson on Baskets over the course of the show's four-season run, from 2016 to 2019. So they definitely spent a decent amount of time together. In an interview with ET, Galifianakis shed some light on just how much the Coming to America star meant to him. Here’s what he said, exactly:

Those are some beautiful words coming from Zach Galifianakis, and they're truly a nice way to sum up the late, great Louie Anderson. The beloved comic always seemed to exude kindness during interviews, so it's lovely to hear that this was the case for Galifianakis.

The late comedian played the mother of Zach Galifianakis’ two characters on Baskets and was nominated for three consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for the role, winning one in 2016. The FX series, which the lead actor even called an "acquired taste" houses one of Galifianakis’ best roles, and he also earned multiple Emmy nods.

A profound and recognizable figure in comedy, Louie Anderson had been in the game for over 30 years. Apart from his roles in Baskets and the Coming to America franchise, he also wrote and starred in two shows that shared his name, Life with Louie and The Louie Show, both of which were full of genuine humor. He authored a few books as well, including Hey Mom: Stories for My Mother, But You Can Read Them Too.

The comedian was also known for his stint as a host on Family Feud as well as his many stand-up routines and specials, dating back to the ‘80s and ‘90s. Additionally, he lent a comedic hand to a number of late-night programs, as he chopped it up with a number of iconic hosts over the years. TV icons like  Johnny Carson and David Letterman (even way back when he was with NBC), were among those to welcome the comic to their programs.

Although Louie Anderson is no longer with us, he certainly will not be forgotten, as evidenced by the fact that so many have been discussing and sharing pieces of his work. Those who knew him, like Zack Galifianakis may miss him, but they likely take comfort in the time they had with him and in the fact that his life is being celebrated in such a way.

Although the weekend box office numbers certainly echo the name Dune over and over considering the massive opening debut of Denis Villeneuve’s movie, which led to the sequel being officially greenlit by Warner Bros, there was another new movie that hit theaters this past weekend: Ron’s Gone Wrong. The animated sci-fi family film starring the voice talents of Zach Galifianakis and Jack Dylan Grazer received great reviews overall and an “A” Cinemascore by moviegoers. So, could it get a sequel too? 

When CinemaBlend spoke to the Ron’s Gone Wrong filmmakers prior to its release about if they imagine Barney and his malfunctioning bot Ron returning for a sequel, co-director Jean-Philippe Vine shared where their heads were at with it. In Vine’s words: 

It sounds like if there’s an audience for it, Ron’s Gone Wrong could very well continue past this first adventure. The filmmakers have already started coming up with some ideas for the story to continue. Unfortunately, Ron’s Gone Wrong had a less than impressive opening weekend in theaters with a $7.3 million domestic opening and $17 million worldwide gross so far. In comparison, The Addams Family 2 made $17 million in its domestic opening weekend alone and has made $75 million worldwide. 

In contrast to the Addams Family sequel, Ron’s Gone Wrong is an original IP that came out at a time when family movies are generally finding more success on streaming than theaters. When Ron’s Gone Wrong hits digital, it’s possible it could grow a much larger following than it currently has, perhaps leading to a sequel down the line. Ron’s Gone Wrong is also the first movie for British animated studio Locksmith Animation, which was distributed by 20th Century Studios via Walt Disney Studios. 

SPOILERS are ahead for Ron’s Gone Wrong for the remainder of the article. 

Ron’s Gone Wrong ends with Barney’s b-bot Ron being uploaded into the cloud and all of the devices being reprogrammed to be like him. Instead of the tech being based on an algorithm that helps the kids befriend people with common interests, these b-bots inspire more organic (albeit more chaotic) friendships. By the end of the movie, Barney had to give up Ron to the cloud, but he in turn made some real friendships, thus surviving middle school. 

Hear me out: I would like to see a Ron’s Gone Wrong sequel when Barney is older, either going off to college or an adult in his 20s. Perhaps something else goes wrong with the b-bots years after Barney’s initial journey with him, and Marc reaches out to him to help out with another situation to fix the b-bots. Perhaps over time, the in-the-cloud Ron has begun to malfunction again because their actual friendship has died off and Barney will have to get in touch with his childhood again to help save the world. 

That’s just my rough pitch, but the Ron’s Gone Wrong filmmakers will certainly have their own great ideas for the film if it does get a sequel. While we wait and see, you can check out our interview with Jack Dylan Grazer and Zach Galifianakis, who spoke about their experience voicing their roles, and writers Peter Baynham and Sarah Smith, who shared how the movie compares to Borat. Check out what other movies are coming out the rest of the year with CinemaBlend’s 2021 new movie release schedule. 

It’s wild to think that The Hangover was first released over 10 years ago. The movie gave us many things, including Zach Galifianakis, the actor who flawlessly portrayed Alan, the cringeworthy baby-wearing character that launched a thousand T shirts. While many know him as a lively comedic actor, he's also a loving father to two young boys. And when it comes to his family, apparently, the hilarious Between Two Ferns star and host is a tad more low-key than his fan-favorite character and tries to hide his connection to Alan and the rest of the film’s band of unfortunate adventurers. 

Zach Galifianakis had his first son just a few years after The Hangover made its impressive debut. Despite still being active in Hollywood with the same adult-oriented humor, he seems to want to hide his claim to fame from his young children. In an interview with ET, the 59-year-old actor says his kids actually have no idea what he does for work and believe he has a totally different profession. Here’s what the Due Date star says on the subject, exactly:

It sounds like one of those running joke situations is going to occur when his children are old enough to use the internet but, honestly, that seems to be right on par with the comedic actor's humor, anyway. It sounds like, as a father, though, he is anything but joking around. He appears to take his job as dad very seriously, which is certainly commendable.

In the same interview, Zach Galifianakis doubled down on his intention not to let his kids watch the movies anytime soon. Here it is in the star’s own words:

While Zach Galifianakis seems to want to keep his career and family life very separate, it’s possible he may make an exception for his newly released animated childrens’ film, Ron’s Gone Wrong. The movie isn’t the first time Galifianakis has voiced acted in a film aimed at younger audiences, but this particular lead role should serve as an even stronger showcase for his skills as a voice actor. You (and maybe even a Galifianakis little or two) can check out the star’s newest film Ron’s Gone Wrong in theaters now.

Ron’s Gone Wrong has the voice talents of Shazam!’s Jack Dylan Grazer with The Hangover’s Zach Galifianakis teaming up to play a middle schooler and malfunctioning robot in this weekend’s latest family film. These days, animated films are often recorded across the world by its actors with few moments for actual one-on-one time in the sound booth. Thankfully, the comedic and naturally charismatic actors came together for a specific scene in the sci-fi movie. 

CinemaBlend spoke to two of the Ron’s Gone Wrong filmmakers about the process of cultivating the unlikely friendship between down-on-his-luck kid Barney (Grazer) and a B-bot (Galifianakis) that does not work the way it’s intended. Co-directors Jean-Phillippe Vine and Octavio E. Rodriguez shared one specific moment working with the actors that they’ll never forget. In Vine’s words: 

The scene they’re referring to takes place later in the film when Barney and Ron are on the run by the company that made the malfunctioning B-bot and doesn’t want the bad press. It speaks to the pair’s friendship and the messages of the film. When speaking to Zach Galifianakis about voicing the robot who has tons of hilarious moments by the way, he shared his experience voicing the character alongside Jack Dylan Grazer:

Towards the end there, Zach Galifianakis got into his typical self-deprecating humor, which Jack Dylan Grazer played along with, jokingly saying that he didn’t want to work with him either after sharing the same space for the fight scene. Then, of course, Grazer played around a little more, improvising that their time together was truly a physical moment in the sound booth: 

Zach Galifianakis kept it going, sharing it was on the DVD extras before Jack Dylan Grazer went bigger, saying there was a "stunt man" in the booth as well, along with a violent bullwhip. You can watch the pair talk about the scene in the interview clip above. Galifianakis kept the funny bit going with these words: 

Ron’s Gone Wrong imagines a world where walking and talking forms of smartphones called B-bots become a hot ticket item for kids. Jack Dylan Grazer’s Barney is the last one in his school to get one, and as he learns, he’s been paired with one, called Ron, that was never connected to the algorithm or cloud. Ron and Barney become friends in a more organic way, but in the process they stir up chaos in their town. 

Ron’s Gone Wrong is now playing in theaters. You can check out what other movies are coming out through the rest of the year with CinemaBlend’s 2021 new movie release schedule. 

2021 has been graced with a number of quality animated films thus far. Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, Sony’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Netflix’s Vivo are only a few of the sweet features that have been released to either the big screen or streaming platforms. Following these films now is 20th Century Studios’ Ron’s Gone Wrong, a futuristic tale that centers on a diminutive robot. Ahead of the movie’s release later this month, its review embargo has lifted, and critics are sharing their thoughts. So what are they saying?

The animated flick takes place in the future, in which kids befriend advanced (and admittedly adorable) machines called B-bots. A young boy named Barney is at the center of the story, as he receives a bot named Ron, who doesn’t work as well as his manufacturers probably intended. CinemaBlend’s own Sarah El-Mahmoud thinks the film is sweet and succeeds in getting its message across. However, she doesn’t find it to be essential viewing, ultimately giving it a three-star score:

Variety seemed to be a bit higher on the debut flick from Locksmith Animation. The trade positively likened the film to a certain classic ‘80s flick that focuses on a lovable robot. The critic also had plenty of praise for Zach Galifianakis, who plays the quirky Ron to Jack Dylan Grazer’s Barney:

With its release, the movie does have to follow some stiff competition, specifically the aforementioned Mitchells vs. The Machines. Both CB and IndieWire are only a few of the outlets to make the comparisons. However, the former site believes that audiences should still go see the film. The critic admits that it doesn’t reach the heights of the Phil Lord and Chris Miller-produced comedy, it still has enough charm of its own:

One of the commonalities of all of these reviews is the mention of the film’s heart. Deadline also commended the film for forgoing any cynical examination of social media culture. In addition, the trade also noted the deft combination of over-the-top and grounded elements in the movie:

Based on these reviews, it would seem that the movie manages to make a nice place for itself, despite not quite stacking up to some of its predecessors. Still, one would think that kids will have fun with this futuristic romp.

Ron's Gone Wrong hits theaters on October 22.

Robots can be either our best friends or our worst enemies. At least, that’s what various movies and stories have told us throughout time. However, 20th Century Studios’ Ron’s Gone Wrong plays towards somewhat of a middle ground, thanks to the presence of Zach Galifianakis’ character, Ron. While he’s desperate to please, the titular “best friend out of the box” does go on a bit of a malfunctioning rampage, and knives are involved. And yet, Ron is actually pretty adorable when you overlook his unintentional acts of potential violence.

Through a new trailer released by 20th Century Studios, Ron’s Gone Wrong has unveiled even more of its charming story. As young Barney (Luca’s Jack Dylan Grazer)finds himself on the outside of the latest tech trend, the B-Bot, his hopes for fitting in are even more dire than they already were. But that could change, thanks to his father’s birthday gift of Ron, the slightly defective B-Bot; who’s about to change his life for better or worse.

Which brings us to the whole part about playing with knives, as Ron’s Gone Wrong sees a cute and cuddly robot running head first into life. This apparently isn’t the best idea, as Ron is missing some very important code that should provide him with the proper knowledge to go out into the world. So not only does Barney need to teach Ron everything from square one, he needs to stop the manufacturers from capturing his new best friend, and sending him to the crusher.

Co-starring an assortment of talent that includes The Lorax’s Ed Helms and The Mitchells vs. The Machines’ Olivia Colman, Ron’s Gone Wrong has a voice cast that’s headed up by some seasoned talent from the world of animation. Even Zach Galifianakis’s experiences with Laika’s Missing Link and The Lego Batman Movie are a huge boost to this heartfelt comedy. So while there may be some danger ahead in the world of Ron and Barney’s adventures, there’s tons of safety with the team that’s behind Ron’s Gone Wrong.

For now, Ron’s Gone Wrong promises a story about a boy, his robot, and the open road. Right there, the potential for hijinks is already promising, and this is just the beginning. Thankfully, audiences won’t have to wait too long for Ron and Barney to make their way to the cineplex; as this big trailer comes with even greater news.

Ron’s Gone Wrong glitches into the world, only in theaters, on October 22nd. But if you’re curious what other family movies are headed to theaters and streaming, check out our 2021 release schedule. You won’t find any glitches in there, though you could discover some more stories of technology gone wrong on the horizon.

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.

Over the course of a decade-plus, Zach Galifianakis became one of Hollywood's most reliably berserk comedians, particularly with The Hangover's unlikely success. While the comedian's peak has passed, the actor-comic continues to find fame in offbeat roles, including FX's exceptional dramedy series, Baskets, and Funny or Die's mean-spirited faux talk show, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. Certainly, on the big screen, small screen, or the wide recesses of the web, there's a lot of great content from the seasoned comic at the click of a button, and we're here to direct you to his best stuff.

If you love Zach Galifianakis, here are the best movies and shows to rent or stream.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (Amazon Prime)

Seated between two potted ferns, an indignant talk show host mercilessly grills his increasingly-aggravated celebrity guests in a series of uncomfortable interviews.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: In the deliberately awkward web program that would unexpectedly mirror Zach Galifianakis' career ascension, Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis started modestly, beginning as a sketch short before it transitioned into a Funny Or Die favorite and spun off a 30-minute special and, eventually, a movie adaptation on Netflix in 2019. In the process, the humiliating interviews went from (then) up-and-coming stars like Michael Cera to famous faces like Brad Pitt before Galifianakis was almost inexplicably trading insults with U.S. President Barack Obama. Throughout its gestation period, Galifianakis never lost focus of the series' intent, delivering more pointed jabs with each uncomfortable celeb guest to surprise Emmy-winning success. It's the little fern talk show that could.

Stream Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis on Amazon Prime and on Funny Or Die.

Additionally, you can stream Between Two Ferns: The Movie on Netflix here.

Baskets (Hulu)

When he flunks out of a prestigious French clown college, Chip Baskets (Zach Galifianakis) becomes a rodeo performer in his hometown.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: It started with a simple premise: what if a sad clown became a rodeo star? From there, Zach Galifianakis, Jonathan Krisel, and Louis C.K. (who left the show after several sexual misconduct reports) created an oddly melancholic (yet darkly funny) exploration about trying to follow your passions and find your sense of self in a world that refuses to take you seriously. Pulling double duty as Chip Baskets, our central clown, and his dismissive twin brother, the amusingly named Dale, Baskets was an excellent showcase for Galifianakis' comedic and dramatic talents, though it was Louie Anderson's evocative performance as Christine Baskets, their long-labored mother, that stole the spotlight, resulting in an Emmy win for this transformative turn. Though it was more of a critical darling, Baskets was an exceptional display of Galifianakis' post-Hangover star power.

Stream Baskets on Hulu.

Buy Baskets Season 1 on digital on Amazon.

Buy Baskets Season 1 DVD on Amazon.

The Hangover (Amazon)

Three men (Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms) wake up from a bachelor party blackout to discover that their bachelor (Justin Bartha) is missing in Las Vegas.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: In the explosive role that turned Zach Galifianakis into a household name, the comedian's comedian became an overnight celebrity with his steal-stealing performance as Alan, a socially inept brother-in-law who's thrown into (and the cause of) the mayhem that is this bachelor party from hell in Todd Phillips' surprise hit, The Hangover. Through playing this befuddled oaf with an unsuspecting teddy bear gentleness and a child-like curiosity for the wild-and-out antics of these hard-partying men — the wolfpack, as it were — the supporting turn quickly became a quotable delight, though the two sequels sadly shied away from his warm-hearted demeanor to explore Alan's burgeoning dark side. It's a shame because this movie had Galifianakis' dry prickliness but also found his oddly moving sweet side.

Buy/rent The Hangover on digital at Amazon.

Buy the DVD/Blu-Ray at Amazon.

Bored To Death (HBO Max)

A struggling writer (Jason Schwartzman) becomes a private detective (of sorts) by utilizing the methods he learned in private eye novels.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: Though it gasped for airtime during its three-season tenure on HBO, Bored to Death became a niche favorite on the premium cable service, notably thanks to its sharply dull-witted lead performances from Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, and Ted Danson. More specifically, Galifianakis played Ray Hueston, a comic book artist and our would-be sleuth's best friend. Premiering in 2009, Bored to Death befitted from The Hangover's success, which came out the same year. This boost helped the series stay on the air for a couple years. Nevertheless, while the noir-inspired show wasn't a rating favorite, it was celebrated by critics for its writing and spirited performances. Though plans to make a film follow-up never materialized, Bored to Death remains one of the actor's most endearing projects.

Stream Bored To Death on HBO Max.

Buy Season 1 on digital on Amazon.

Buy The Complete Series DVD on Amazon.

Zach Galifianakis: Live At The Purple Onion (Netflix)

Zach Galifianakis delivers a murderer's row of one-liners in his acclaimed DVD special.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: Becoming something of an underground sensation only a few short years before its titular comedian discovered mainstream success with The Hangover, Zach Galifianakis: Live at the Purple Onion found a wide audience towards the end of the '00s, notably when more comedy lovers were finally familiar with the comic's signature dry delivery. That said, this 2006 DVD comedy special was a major moment, demonstrating in one hour-plus special what he could deliver — especially when left to his own devices. The results are screamingly funny, in a way that only Galifianakis can be, resulting in a hilariously hectic hour that continued the comedian's rising ascent. Certainly, this standout special was key to Galifiankis landing a plump role in The Hangover. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Stream Zach Galifianakis: Live At The Purple Onion on Netflix.

Buy the DVD on Amazon.

Birdman Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (IMDbTV)

An over-the-hill superhero actor (Michael Keaton) revives his career by writing, directing, and starring in his own Broadway production.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: In an A-list ensemble filled with award-nominated performances from Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, and Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis didn't get as much attention or praise for his supporting turn as Jake, our lead's perpetually frustrated best friend and lawyer, which is a shame because Galifianakis is on top of his game here. Through the actor's dependable work, Galifianakis captures Jake's weighted emotional vulnerability while also demonstrating a sense of grounded integrity that stands out in a sea of egomaniacs. As a result, Galifianakis' performance was overlooked during the movie's awards run, particularly as it wasn't a full departure from his previous work. Nevertheless, it's a standout part that shouldn't be undervalued — much like his woeful council of a supporting character.

Stream Birdman on IMDbTV.

Buy/rent it on digital on Amazon.

Buy the DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Into The Wild (Netflix)

A bright college grad (Emile Hirsch) hitchhikes across the country to live in the wild.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: Admittedly, Zach Galifianakis only provides a cameo in Into the Wild, writer-director Sean Penn's soulful adaptation of Jon Krakauer's non-fiction book, in the role of Kevin, a wildlife expert with a seemingly checkered reputation. Nevertheless, while Galifianakis' short, pre-fame performance is notably small, the comedian is part of a tremendous ensemble, including Emile Hirsch as our adventurous protagonist, along with a supporting cast that features Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Catherine Keener, Jena Malone, Vince Vaughn, Kristen Stewart, and the late Hal Holbrook, who was Oscar-nominated. Through its rascal spirit and its emotional exploration of this determined youth, Into the Wild captures what it means to pursue your wild-at-heart dreams, particularly in a civilized world that won't understand.

Stream Into The Wild on Netflix.

Buy/rent it on digital on Amazon.

Buy the DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

Missing Link (Hulu)

Recruited by an opportunistic explorer (Hugh Jackman), a well-mannered Sasquatch (Zach Galifianakis) travels out of his natural habitat to find his furry, long-lost relatives.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: Since he's often prone to playing unsophisticated dullards with a flawed understanding of the known world, Missing Link became a bit of a departure for Zach Galifianakis. Specifically, the vocal role allowed the actor to play up the character's curious mind and wondrous desire to learn about the undiscovered truths of its own bloodline. The result is a witty, winsome performance in a family film that doesn't live up to the high standards of its often-impeccable stop-motion animation house, Laika, though it certainly looks gorgeous. Also, it features sharp turns from Hugh Jackman, Zoe Saldana, Emma Thompson, and Timothy Olyphant to round out the voice-only cast. Additionally, while it favors familiar fish-out-of-water jokes, the slapstick timing is consistently sharp throughout, which continues Galifianakis' history of exacting comedic precision.

Stream Missing Link on Hulu.

Rent it on digital on Amazon.

Buy the DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon.

The LEGO Batman Movie (HBO Max)

An immature Batman (Will Arnett) must learn to accept responsibility when the solo hero accidentally adopts a plucky teen orphan (Michael Cera). Meanwhile, a band of villains, led by a vengeful Joker (Zach Galifianakis), attempt to overtake Gotham City.

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: Over the years, we've either seen or heard many different interpretations of the Clown Prince of Crime. Several are widely celebrated, including Mark Hamill, Jack Nicholson, and Alan Tudyk. A couple of them (Heath Ledger, Joaquin Phoenix) are even award-winning. And, well, the less said about Jared Leto, the better. With that said, it's easy to overlook Zach Galifianakis' maniacal, traitorous toy version of the Aces of Knaves, but the voice actor winningly gives the miniature menace a few unexpectedly tender moments, particularly one memorably tender scene that proves to be more sympathetic than possibly any other portrayal of the clown criminal. It's not the definitive Joker, but it brings the laughs.

Stream The Lego Batman Movie on HBO Max.

Buy/rent it on digital on Amazon here.

Buy the DVD/Blu-Ray on Amazon here.

Up In The Air (HBO Max)

Corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) travels the country, firing people across the nation, while he's accompanied by an enthusiastic new hire (Anna Kendrick).

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: Though Jason Reitman's Up in the Air belongs to its central three stars, George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick, all of whom were Oscar-nominated, this slickly-made, high-flying character dramedy is also indebted to its standout supporting talents, including Melanie Lynskey, Danny McBride, J.K. Simmons, Sam Elliott, Amy Morton, and Zach Galifianakis. The latter plays a disgruntled ex-employee who becomes the focal point of a memorable montage that shows us everything that could potentially happen if this unstable man's job termination takes the wrong turn. It's easily the film's most darkly hilarious scene, and Galifianakis brings it readily with a fine mix of trembling vulnerability and anarchic glee, establishing the hit movie's unconventional acidic (yet also soul-searching) tone.

Stream Up In The Air on HBO Max.

Buy/rent it on digital at Amazon.

Buy the DVD at Amazon.

It’s Kind Of A Funny Story (Amazon)

A clinically depressed teenager (Keir Gilchrist) checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward, where he makes an unfriendly friend (Zach Galifianakis).

Why You Should Stream It If You Love Zach Galifianakis: While Zach Galifianakis is rightfully celebrated for his wry witticisms, the comedian demonstrated his understated dramatic talents in the underrated coming-of-age dramedy, It's Kind of a Funny Story.

Based on the YA novel of the same name by the late Ned Vizzini, this likable, sweet-natured titular story is too cutesy for its own good, especially given its heavy subject matter. That said, It's Kind of a Funny Story is anchored assuredly by its heartfelt lead performances, notably with Zach Galifianakis providing wistful warmth as Bobby, a mentor found inside these white walls. Sadly, it wasn't a hit, but the film demonstrated his expandable talents, which have only periodically been realized in other projects.

Buy/rent It's Kind Of A Funny Story on digital on Amazon.

Buy the DVD on Amazon.

We’ve had comedies in the past where grown men behaved badly. But it really wasn’t until 2009’s The Hangover that it pretty much became a genre in itself. So much so, that Bridesmaids was often, some might say unfairly, referred to as a “female version” upon its release in 2011. To note, The Hangover cast, which included the likes of Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, and many others, most likely had no idea what a massive hit the film would eventually become. In fact, The Hangover was, at the time, the highest grossing R-Rated comedy of all time, until it was surpassed by, you might have guessed it, The Hangover Part II in 2011.

Why did this story about men who go on a wild bachelor party that goes wrong resonate so much with audiences? Honestly, if I knew the answer to that, I’d be a multimillionaire, since I’m pretty sure nobody would have imagined that it would become a whole trilogy of films. That said, with a cast like this, I actually kind of get it, since it’s so jam-packed with stars. So, what are those stars doing today? Well, you saw the title of this article. You’re about to find out.

Bradley Cooper (Phil Wenneck)

Yes, while Bradley Cooper was in a bunch of notable films before The Hangover, namely Wet Hot American Summer and Wedding Crashers, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of movie-goers began to fall in love with the talented actor with The Hangover. Since then, he’s had a very successful career, both in television and in film. On the TV side, Nip/Tuck fans will remember his brief stint on the show as Aidan Stone, and he also did some episodes on TV shows based on films he’s been in such as 2015’s Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, and also a few episodes of Limitless.

On the film side, some of his most notable work, post the first Hangover, was The A-Team, Silver Linings Playbook, where he was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor, American Hustle (Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination), American Sniper (Best Actor nomination again), and 2018’s A Star Is Born, where he was again nominated for Best Actor, but he also directed and sang the hit song, “Shallow,” which won a Grammy for Best Original Song. MCU fans will know him best as talking raccoon, Rocket, in the Guardians of the Galaxy series. 2021 is actually a really busy year for Cooper, because he’ll be in an untitled Paul Thomas Anderson movie, a psychological thriller called Nightmare Alley, and is also voicing Rocket again in Thor: Love and Thunder.

Zach Galifianakis (Alan Garner)

While Bradley Cooper was definitely one of the breakout stars of the first Hangover, I like to think that Zach Galifianakis (and one other actor I will get to later) also shot into the stratosphere after this film. I actually wonder what he’s had a bigger role on, the big screen or the small. On the TV end, prior to The Hangover, I remember seeing him in some of my favorite shows like Wonder Showzen, The Sarah Silverman Program, and Tim and Eric Awesome Show. Great Job!. After The Hangover, he was in the immensely popular Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, which even became a movie, Comedy, Bang, Bang, and of course, Baskets.

On the film end, he’s been probably even more prolific following The Hangover. Besides two Hangover sequels, he also did another Todd Phillips comedy, Due Date with Robert Downey Jr., costarred in the underappreciated The Campaign with Will Farrell, and could arguably be considered one of the greatest Jokers ever in Lego Batman. He’ll next be voicing a robot in the sci-fi animated comedy, Ron’s Gone Wrong, as the titular character.

Ed Helms (Stu Price)

Ed Helms was actually pretty well known prior to The Hangover since he portrayed Andy Bernard on The Office, but his brand of humor was definitely appreciated in the raunchy comedy. On TV, he’s been popping up here and there since the hit movie in shows like The Mindy Project, The Muppets, and as a voice on Bojack Horseman. He’s also currently on the Peacock original show Rutherford Falls.

Film-wise, Ed Helms was in one of my favorite comedies of the past few years, Cedar Rapids. He also played Clark Griswold’s son, Rusty, in Vacation, the sixth movie in the series, and was even the narrator for the Disney Nature documentary, Penguins. His latest movie is the Nikole Beckwith comedy Together Together.

Ken Jeong (Leslie Chow)

Ken Jeong is the other big star who really broke out after his role in The Hangover. He'd been in a string of great films prior to that movie as well, most notably Knocked Up, Step Brothers, Pineapple Express, and Role Models. But, after The Hangover, I feel like he was in everything. Some notable films include Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Crazy Rich Asians, and he even had a surprising cameo in the once biggest movie in the world, Avengers: Endgame, as a security guard. In 2021 alone, if all goes according to plan, he will have been in six movies, including Tom & Jerry, Boss Level, and even a My Little Pony film called, My Little Pony: A New Generation as a voice actor. He is also supposed to star in Charlie Day’s directorial debut, El Tonto, which still doesn’t have a release date yet.

Ken Jeong is probably most known for his TV work. The very real doctor was probably most famous for his role as Ben Chang on Community, but he also starred in his own show titled (What else?) Dr. Ken, which ran for two seasons. He can currently be seen as a judge on The Masked Singer, as well as its spin-off, The Masked Dancer. His next TV role is TBA for a release date, but it will be a voice role for a series based off of the movie Wonder Park, called Adventures in Wonder Park.

Justin Bartha (Doug Billings)

Funnily enough, we barely even saw Justin Bartha in the first Hangover movie even though he’s the actual groom they’re having the bachelor party for in the first place. We got to see a lot more of him in the sequels, though. On the TV end, he was on 17 episodes of The Good Wife sequel, The Good Fight, and he most recently had a recurring role on the crime drama, Godfather of Harlem.

In film, Justin Bartha starred in movies like CBGB, Sticky Notes, Against the Clock, and will next be seen in the upcoming Jason Mamoa action thriller, Sweet Girl, on Netflix.

Heather Graham (Jade)

Heather Graham's first movie was all the way back in 1984, in the Diane Keaton film, Mrs. Soffel. Since then, she's been in a ton of great stuff before The Hangover, such as Swingers and Boogie Nights. In fact, The Hangover was actually more of a resurgence to her career rather than a jumping off point. Following The Hangover, she was also featured in The Hangover Part III, Horns, the Netflix flick, Love, Guaranteed, and will also star in an upcoming horror film called Oracle.

On the television side, she’s been in shows like Portlandia, Californication, Get Shorty, and was also Rita Blakemoor in the recent The Stand series.

Mike Tyson (Himself)

Lastly, if you ask anybody—anybody at all—what they remember most about the first Hangover movie, they will almost certainly tell you that they remember when the four friends actually looked at the pictures of the night they blacked out on, and then, they’ll tell you they remember Mike Tyson singing “In the Air Tonight” by Phil Collins before he knocked out Zach Galifianakis’s character.

Since The Hangover, “Iron” Mike Tyson has been keeping busy. Besides reappearing in The Hangover Part II, he was also in Scary Movie 5, playing himself, and Ip Man 3. He was also in a number of TV shows, most notably the grossly underappreciated animated comedy, Mike Tyson Mysteries. Last year, he got back in the ring to fight Roy Jones Jr. in an exhibition match, and with Logan Paul recently calling him out, maybe we’ll see Tyson strap on the gloves again to fight the YouTube celebrity. Only time will tell.

The Hangover is one of those lighting in a bottle movies that we may never see again ever in our lifetimes. Sure, R-Rated comedies are still being made, but I can’t think of any that might blow up like The Hangover, but who’s to say? For news on 2021 movies (or maybe you’re already thinking ahead to 2022 movies) make sure to stop by often!

It's quite possible that pop superstar Britney Spears will never not be famous, at least within her lifetime. So, it's no surprise that Spears, during her music-making heyday, was approached to guest host Saturday Night Live, and that she took them up on the opportunity. But, apparently, her stint as guest host overlapped with a trial run on the writing staff for comedian / actor Zach Galifianakis, who pitched some truly ridiculous sketches for Spears which bombed pretty hard.

While much of the recent attention around Britney Spears has involved some serious topics like her trying to remove her dad from her conservatorship, her (sometimes wild) social media habits, or the Framing Britney Spears documentary, there's now a more lighthearted bit of news which goes all the way back to over two decades ago. While appearing on the Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast recently, Zach Galifianakis spoke about his brief time on the late night staple, and revealed that his ideas for the superstar when she hosted in May 2000, didn't go over so well. According to Galifianakis:

WOW. Alright, first of all, to clarify, Zach Galifianakis admits that he was only given a trial run as a writer on SNL for a couple of weeks, and it could not have been easy at all to go from doing standup to trying to come up with sketches and then pitch them to an established group of writers / cast members. And, while his idea clearly failed to impress anyone, and even Galifianakis can admit it was probably bad, at least he had originality on his side, and was able to come up with something.

Considering how long ago this happened, it's pretty clear that the moment really had an impact on Galifianakis, which is great, because otherwise we never would have heard this story.

As you might have noticed, though, the awkwardness didn't end there, as Galifianakis had another idea, which he was able to pitch to Britney Spears herself. And this one? It's even wilder:

You gotta hand it to Zach Galifianakis, even in what was a stressful and very new situation for him, he wasn't afraid to just put his weirdest ideas on the table. It may not have worked out for him, but he did admit that it was still a "dream" to be able to work behind the scenes at SNL for a bit. And, it sounds that while Britney Spears was probably a bit thrown by his idea, she was nice about it, so at least the experience (likely) didn't scar either of them.

Netflix’s Top 10 list has given subscribers a great way to engage with content that a lot of other people care about. A lot of times this content ends up being Netflix Originals, movies like Spenser Confidential and Extraction or TV shows such as The Umbrella Academy. Yet, as users look for more traditional films on the platform, the subscription streaming service has kind of been a place for people to find middling or forgotten movies again. This week that means Robert Downey Jr. and Nicolas Cage movies that are around a decade old are finding new life on the streamer.

If you were to peruse Netflix’s Top 10 list right now, you’d find some original content like the fun rom-com Love, Guaranteed and the new season of Lucifer in the Top 10. Regardless, in the midst of that content both the Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifiniakis starrer from Todd Phillips Due Date and the Nicolas Cage and John Cusack-led The Frozen Ground are also in the Top 10.

Both movies have high-profile casts and came out several years ago, with Due Date hitting theaters in 2010 and The Frozen Ground coming out three years later in 2013. Both also have in common that they were not super well-received when they first came out. Neither are bad movies, per se, and both have middling reviews on aggregators like Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB. One major difference between the two movies is that Due Date was a wider release, The Frozen Ground never really got the chance to shine as it was sent to VOD in most places.

But like a lot of mediocre movies – and in fact despite Due Date making a profit at the box office -- neither were really part of the cultural vernacular until they randomly saw a resurgence on Netflix. It’s something the subscription streaming service has started to be notable for as it has become a little bit clearer about the ways people consume content in a binge-able format. If you are only paying $13 dollars a month for the content and just looking for something random to watch on a Tuesday night, suddenly something like Due Date, which is at the time of this writing a #5 hit on the streaming service, may seem like a pretty good proposition.

And if you haven’t seen The Frozen Ground, the #9 movie is about serial killer Robert Hansen, known as the Butcher Baker. I can absolutely see how it ties into some of Netflix’s other crime genre content, particularly its popular series Mindhunter. The fact that these movies, which may be movies people did not see during their original runs and may in some ways feel like new content, are gaining new light is honestly fascinating to watch.

If I had to hypothesize myself, I would probably have guessed that subscribers were using Netflix to watch old staples in genres like rom-coms or brand-spanking new originals, of course. But it seems that users’ tastes are more varied. They may be looking for more content that is new rather than old hot – even if it’s new to them and not new to the test of time.

This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. Earlier this summer, a Mark Wahlberg flop, Patriots Day, made Netflix’s Top 10 list. More recently, a Kevin James flop also dominated the Top 10.

As some perennial favorites like Marvel movies or franchises like Harry Potter have shifted to different streaming services, it makes sense that some of the most popular content on Netflix might end up being forgotten movies from the mid-aughts. But it does make me wonder if people will always be happy to settle for good enough.

Saturday Night Live has served as the jumping off point for countless comedians throughout the show's 48-year history, but just because someone doesn't make it on the show doesn't necessarily mean their career is over. Do names like Donald Glover, Jim Carrey, Aubrey Plaza, and Jennifer Coolidge sound familiar? Well, they should, as each of them became comedy superstars in the years following their failed SNL auditions. Here are some of the biggest comedians who didn’t make the cut but still found success in the entertainment industry. 

Jennifer Coolidge

Over the course of the past quarter-century, Jennifer Coolidge has had a remarkable career, with big-screen appearances in movies like American Pie, Legally Blonde, and various Christopher Guest mockumentaries. And more recently, Coolidge stole every one of her scenes on The White Lotus, a performance that won her multiple awards. But as she explained in a 2004 Los Angeles Magazine oral history on The Groundlings sketch comedy troupe, she tried out for Saturday Night Live alongside future cast members Will Ferrell, Cheri Oteri, and Chris Kattan in 1995 prior to her career really taking off:

As great as it would have been to see Coolidge week-in and week-out with some of the best SNL casts of all time, it’s hard to say if we would have ever been given iconic characters like Tanya McQuoid.

John Mulaney

In addition to being one of the best standup comedians with a collection of tremendous specials, John Mulaney was also a longtime writer for Saturday Night Live. But as Mulaney explained in the SNL Stories from the Show video in April 2020, he was originally brought on to audition as a member of the cast back in August 2008. A few days after the audition, which included a spot-on Law & Order bit, the comedian received a phone call that would change his life: 

Mulaney would go on to create the unforgettable Stefon character with Bill Hader, come up with some of the most absurd SNL musical numbers, and become one of the sharpest and most honest standups of his generation.

Tiffany Haddish

In the past decade, Tiffany Haddish has established herself as one of the biggest comedians on the planet with smash hit movies like Girls Trip, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, and the upcoming Haunted Mansion, but as the actress and Ali Wong discussed at the Tuca & Bertie premiere (via Decider) in 2019, Haddish tried out for Saturday Night Live prior to her career really taking off.

Joking about the situation, Haddish said she told SNL that she would be hosting “next time,” and that’s exactly what happened. But not only did Haddish host the sketch comedy show in November 2017, she also won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2018 for her guest spot that night. 

Mindy Kaling

Mindy Kaling has been a powerful force in the entertainment industry throughout the past decade-and-a-half thanks to a long list of incredible shows like The Office, The Mindy Project, and Never Have I Ever. But as the decorated comedian, actress, and writer told The Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast in 2019, she was close to adding Saturday Night Live to her resume:

Though Kaling was initially excited about the opportunity, she was forced to turn down the writing gig because of her contract for The Office and an agreement she made with executive producer Greg Daniels. She would call the whole situation “life-changing.”

John Goodman has hosted Saturday Night Live more than a dozen times over the years, and is one of the most prolific members of the five-times club, but he was almost a member of the show’s cast way back when. During a 2022 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, the Golden Globe winner opened up about his failed audition for the show in 1980:

Obviously, Goodman wasn’t too sore about the rejection, as he’s hosted the show 13 times over the years, and has made countless cameos during that same stretch of time.

Marc Maron

Over the years, Marc Maron has gone from tenacious standup comedian to prolific podcaster with his WTF with Marc Maron podcast, and has even found a great deal of success as an actor. However, the one big what-if from his career that’s always stuck with him was his failed 1995 Saturday Night Live audition, which he has talked about time and time again on his podcast over the years.

Back in 2015, when Lorne Michaels appeared on WTF, Maron finally asked the SNL executive producer for some clarity on the situation. When Maron asked if he wasn’t a right fit for the show, Michaels explained that he was fine, it was just that the show was going through a massive transition at the time and they didn’t know how all the pieces would fit.

Kumail Nanjiani

Similar to John Mulaney and Mindy Kaling, Kumail Nanjiani was once asked to audition for Saturday Night Live to only receive an offer to join as a member of the writing staff. But unlike Mulaney, who worked as a writer for years, and Kaling, who had to turn down the offer, the Eternals star served as a member of the writing team for one week, as he told Vulture in 2012.

Nanjiani said he tried out because “you can’t not audition for SNL,” and was offered a chance to write sketches for a few weeks, but ultimately had prior engagements that prevented him from staying longer than a single show. But like a lot of people on this list, Nanjiani would go on to host SNL in 2017.

Jack McBrayer

Jack McBrayer, best known for his turn as Kenneth Parcell on 30 Rock, a show that was executive produced by none other than Lorne Michaels. But the hit comedy series wasn’t the first time McBrayer had an interaction with the SNL creator, as the actor and comedian auditioned for the sketch show years ago. During a 2014 appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, McBrayer joked about his failed audition, saying:

McBrayer went on to cross his fingers and say “Wel, they never said no,” in reference to his tryout alongside his longtime friend. But hey, everything worked out for McBrayer in the end, even if no one called to break the bad news.

Donald Glover

Donald Glover would become a star with his starring role in the NBC comedy Community, but the comedian, actor, writer, and musician was almost a member of a completely different show when he auditioned for a spot on Saturday Night Live in 2008. How and why Glover didn't earn a spot still baffles a lot of people, including Glover, who made a joke of his two failed auditions when he hosted SNL in 2018 

But don't feel too bad for Glover as he went on to have great success on television, in movies, and even in the music industry under his Childish Gambino moniker. 

Aubrey Plaza

Aubrey Plaza was another future star in the making when she auditioned for a spot on Saturday Night Live in 2008. After being introduced to SNL at a very early age, Plaza told the Guardian that she always wanted to be on the show and did everything she could do in order to get there, which ultimately led to her interning on the program in 2005 and the auditioning in 2008.

And though she didn't make the cut, Plaza ended up securing a gig as one of the funniest characters on Parks And Recreation, and the rest is history. In the years following her failed audition, Plaza has become one of the funniest actresses in film and television with her absurdly awkward and dark sense of humor. And she even went on to host SNL in January 2023. 

Ellie Kemper

It seems like so many of the SNL hopefuls from the late 2000s would later go on to find success on other NBC programming, which is also the case for Ellie Kemper. Before the future star earned the starring role on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Kemper found success as a member of The Office cast. During a 2018 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Kemper revealed that even though she hasn't spoken to Lorne Michaels since her failed 2008 audition, she doesn't hold anything against him, stating:

Though she never joined the SNL cast, Kemper finally got to stand on the stage for a brief reunion with her fellow cast from The Office when Steve Carell hosted the show in November 2018. 

Nick Kroll

Before he went on to star in The League and his own sketch comedy show, Kroll Show, and the Netflix animated series Big Mouth, comedian Nick Kroll was a member of the same auditioning class as his future collaborator John Mulaney back in 2008. During an interview on the Dan Patrick Show, Kroll revealed that he in fact had a memorable, yet extremely awkward interaction with Lorne Michaels, stating:

Kroll went on to say that everything worked out the way it should have because he ended up securing a role on The League the following year and became a comedy star shortly thereafter.

Stephen Colbert

Although not as shocking as his Saved By The Bell audition, The Late Show host Stephen Colbert also tried to join the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1996. Colbert was part of the round of auditions that would eventually lead to Tracy Morgan getting a spot on the show. Colbert joked with Morgan about his failed audition during the former 30 Rock star's 2017 appearance on The Late Show, where Morgan revealed that he didn't remember the incident, stating:

According to Colbert, he and Morgan were both part of the same callback after the first round of auditions, but he was the odd man out. Colbert, however, would go on to briefly work on SNL, where he voiced Ace on the Ambiguously Gay Duo animated segments alongside Steve Carell. Colbert would go on to become a Daily Show correspondent before landing his own show, The Colbert Report, and then taking over for David Letterman on The Late Show in 2015.

Jim Carrey

Jim Carrey has gone on to host Saturday Night Live multiple times over the course of his career, but the Canadian comedian looked at earning a spot on the cast before he found great success in the 1980s. In a 2015 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lorne Michaels revealed that he wasn’t at Carrey’s audition, but someone who was there passed on the future star, saying they didn’t “think Lorne would like it.”  

Carrey would end up getting a spot on In Living Color a decade later, and was quickly catapulted into superstardom within a few years. It’s safe to say he did okay for himself despite not making the cut for SNL. 

Kevin Hart

You wouldn't think it, but Kevin Hart had probably one of the most disastrous Saturday Night Live auditions in the history of the show. Before he went on to perform sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and headlining countless hit comedy movies, Hart tried his luck at the sketch comedy show. During a 2015 appearance on Conan, Hart explained why you shouldn't do an impression of a basketball player no one knows:

Despite not making the cut for Saturday Night Live, it's safe to say Kevin Hart has had one heck of a career.

Zach Galifianakis

Years before he became a comedy superstar in The Hangover trilogy, Zach Galifianakis auditioned for Saturday Night Live, and got hired, but as a writer instead of a cast-member. During a 2019 episode of The Off Camera Show, Galifianakis explained that he didn't know at the time that he wouldn't actually be performing on the show, stating:

He would last a couple of weeks on the writing team before he moved on to other things. In the years following, the comedian has become a star in his own right and continues to provide laughs with his offbeat humor.

Paul Reubens

Paul Reubens is better known as the man-child Pee-wee Herman, but the world might not have ever gotten the oddball character if it weren't for the actor's failed Saturday Night Live audition in 1980. During the 2007 Sketch Fest (via SF Gate), Reubens revealed how hurt and outraged he was after being rejected, stating:

Reubens would go on to have a long career in the entertainment industry with his signature Pee-wee Herman character, as well as roles in movies like Blow, Batman Returns, and multiple others. 

Lisa Kudrow

Before landing a gig on Friends, Lisa Kudrow auditioned for a spot on the cast of Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s, which the show's executive producer Lorne Michaels regrets rejecting all these years later, as he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2015::

It’s hard to imagine what Friends would have been like with Kudrow’s Phoebe Buffay all those years.

Kel Mitchell

Kenan Thompson has gone on to become the longest-running cast-member of Saturday Night Live after earning a spot on the show in 2003. Thompson's old comedy partner, Kel Mitchell, wasn't as lucky as his friend and All That co-star. Mitchell auditioned at the same time as Thompson way back when, but thanks to an awkward audition, he knew it was over as he explained during a Reddit Ask Me Anything session:

In the years following his disastrous audition, Mitchel has gone on to appear on the series Game Shakers as well as an All That reunion and Dancing With The Stars.

Jordan Peele

This final entry is quite different from the rest as Jordan Peele was offered a spot on Saturday Night Live in 2008, but he had to turn it down after Fox wouldn't release the future star of Key And Peele from his MadTV contract.

Peele told the Hollywood Reporter in a 2019 interview that the incident motivated him to not only act and perform comedy but to also start producing his own projects. Over the next 10 years, Peele started the successful sketch comedy show, Key And Peele, before becoming one of the most groundbreaking minds in the horror genre with films like Get Out, Us, and Nope. 

Those are just a few of the dozens of comedians who failed to impress Lorne Michaels of senior writers of Saturday Night Live. While the long-running sketch comedy series may be a fantastic jumping off point for a comedian's career, it's clearly not the only way a talented comedian can make a name for themselves, as evidenced by so many of the successful people we mentioned above.

Those are just a few of the dozens of comedians who found success despite not joining the Saturday Night Live cast. And who knows, maybe we’ll be seeing some of them come back in the future as SNL hosts when the show makes its eventual return after suspending production due to the 2023 WGA strike. 

2019. It may be forever known as the year of Keanu Reeves. The Keanussance reached a special peak since he has kicked ass on the big-screen with John Wick 3, charmed Netflix subscribers in Always Be My Maybe, and voiced Duke Caboom in Toy Story 4. He took the gaming world by storm with his viral “breathtaking” appearance at E3, and now he’ll soon reprise his role as Neo in Matrix 4 and as Ted in Bill & Ted Face The Music. He’s a national treasure… right?

Not everyone’s universally loved… but Keanu Reeves comes pretty damn close these days. However, in an extended clip from Netflix's Between Two Ferns: The Movie, host Zach Galifianakis asked some hard-hitting questions. Here’s how some of it went:

Yikes! Guess not everyone’s a huge fan of Keanu Reeves’ acting ability. The actor is best known for his action flicks, some of which have a more cheesy lean. He’s been criticized by some for his on-screen demeanor. Some would say that’s exactly the reason he holds charm. Plus, he’s shown his acting chops with a variety of other roles throughout his career. They continued with:

Now, the quotes of course come from a comedy bit Zach Galifianakis has been doing for years on YouTube with huge celebrities such as Barack Obama, Brad Pitt, and so forth for Funny or Die. It pokes fun at how vastly loved the actor is. Though, there are certainly people out there who don’t get the hype like Galifianakis’ persona does. The comedian sat down with Keanu Reeves for the Between Two Ferns: The Movie, which recently was released on Netflix. Check it out:

Incredible. In the interview, Zach Galifianakis first struggles to identify Keanu Reeves’ quite simple last name. The title card settles on “Reefs” with a caption reading “Bill or Ted” underneath it. He then goes on to ask him how many words he knows from 1 to 100, asks him how he feels to be called a “bozo." He also brings up a motorcycle scar and a spleen he had to have removed.

One might argue it’s healthy for someone as widely loved and adored as Keanu Reeves to get a good laugh and light poke at his career every so often, as this Between Two Ferns interview hilariously does!

As introduced in a series of Funny Or Die sketches that started in 2008, “Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis” has long succeeded utilizing an extremely simple parody premise: take the late night show celebrity interview format, and have it entirely orchestrated by an idiotic, unprofessional asshole. Straight-forward as the approach might be, though, the results have been consistently hilarious for years, as Galifianakis as has endlessly succeeded in generating some truly uncomfortable conversations with some of the most notable people in the world – all of whom are doing everything in their power to contain a particular deep loathing that they clearly have for everything about the encounter.

Of course, as amazing as the shows have been, it’s not exactly an idea that directly lends itself to a feature film, but that challenge didn’t stop the making of director Scott Auckerman’s Between Two Ferns: The Movie. And the results are… fine. There is a legitimate attempt made to structure a narrative around the concept, creating a situation where Zach Galifianakis has to go on a cross-country interview tour, but while those efforts wind up being mostly mediocre, the experience is ultimately buoyed just by everything that made the internet series work from the start.

Set up as a documentary, the movie starts by revealing that Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis is actually a bit of local access programming produced from a small television station in Flinch, North Carolina, and it’s a program that is in serious trouble. While Galifianakis has dreams of one day becoming a network late show host, the interviews he conducts are absolutely terrible – and things really come to a head when a plumbing issue nearly results in the death of Matthew McConaughey.

Following the incident, producer Will Ferrell, the head of Funny or Die, gives the host one last chance to both save his show and try to achieve his dreams. With a limited crew that includes his producer personal “getter,” Carol (Lauren Lapkus), his camera operator, Cam (Ryan Gaul), and sound mixer, Boom Boom (Jiavani Linayao), Galifianakis is told that he has two weeks to go across America recording a series of interviews, and should he succeed he would be given his chance at the big time.

The plot is very clearly a thin excuse for Between Two Ferns: The Movie to set up a string of interviews that allows a smorgasbord of A-lister cameos, but it works because each sit down very much captures the magic of the original series. As you would expect and hope, the questions that Zach Galifianakis asks are wildly stupid and inappropriate (making you wonder how any of the material was actually captured without anyone breaking), and even the classic repeat jokes that have been employed for over a decade – such as never being able to pronounce anyone’s names – still manage to earn a chuckle. And while most interview subjects have really the same general attitude about the man they’re forced to sit down with, many of them offer some fantastic reaction and comebacks.

Obviously what’s meant to differentiate between watching Between Two Ferns: The Movie and simply binge-watching the existing clips online is the material that binds all of it together, but that’s where the feature disappoints. It never gets boring, and the characters are all likeable enough, but it also all feels undercooked compared to the deep-cutting wit that is exercised when cameras are rolling on the titular show. Certain bits are introduced, such as growing money issues as the road trip continues, Cam’s intense dislike for Zach, and Boom Boom’s assumption that every celebrity is hitting on her, but they never get real opportunities for pay off. You get the sense that the filmmakers firmly believe that people will mostly be watching the film for the interviews, and while that’s probably accurate, it still leaves you wanting more.

There are parts of Between Two Ferns: The Movie that are as funny if not funnier than any comedy released this year, and any Zach Galifianakis fan will be able to connect with its off-beat sensibilities and humor. There just really isn’t much more to it than that. It’s an enjoyable 82 minutes and worth the experience for those who enjoy the series – just don’t expect to carry it with you forever.

There's all this talk about Hellboy under-performing in its opening weekend -- the hellish, going up in flames jokes write themselves -- taking third place below both Shazam! and Little. But Missing Link would've been happy with such a finish. Instead, it opened in 9th place, even after playing on more screens than fellow newcomers Hellboy, Little, and After.

Missing Link only made $5.8 million in its opening weekend at the domestic box office. That's the lowest opening yet for Laika. The stop-motion animated adventure -- starring the voice talents of Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, and Zoe Saldana -- had been tracking for $8 million-$12 million, per THR. That's still not a wow, but this is worse.

So what happened?

Sometimes you can look to reviews. But not this time. Hellboy, After, and Little were all trounced by critics, with 15%, 13%, and 49% respective Rotten Tomatoes scores. Missing Link, on the other hand, has an 89% RT score with a still positive 74% audience score. Missing Link also earned a B+ CinemaScore from moviegoers polled opening night. That's the same score as Little, and higher than After's B and Hellboy's C.

So it wasn't bad reviews, which was probably a factor in turning people away from Hellboy. With Missing Link, I'd wager lack of publicity was a factor. I may not have been the target audience, but I saw very few ads for this movie. Then again, I could say the same for the romantic drama After, which opened above Missing Link with $6.2 million from 2,138 screens. That's a thousand fewer screens than Missing Link, which opened in 3,413 theaters.

Missing Link actually opened in about a hundred more theaters than Hellboy, and nearly a thousand more than Little. It had fewer than Shazam! but the per-screen average for Missing Link was only $1,712, vs. $5,838 for Shazam! this week, $5,811 for second place Little, and $3,638 for Hellboy.

Expect a lot of chatter about the Hellboy reboot and what that could mean, but I'm wondering what this could mean for the studio behind Oscar-nominated films Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings. Maybe the international box office will help.

None of the Laika films have been blockbusters, but worldwide Coraline made $124.6 million in 2009, with $75M of that from the domestic box office. Subsequent films made a bit less money, per Box Office Mojo. Kubo and the Two Strings has the lowest total so far with $69.9 worldwide -- $48M from domestic -- after its opening in 2016. Missing Link looks to be on track to end with less.

Missing Link could be one of those films that picks up as it goes along, but with Avengers: Endgame coming April 26, there isn't much time to build momentum. That thing is going to take over all screens. As we wait to see what happens from here, be sure to come back to CinemaBlend to check out our weekend box office roundup, and bookmark our 2019 movie schedule to keep up with everything headed to theaters this year.

This year there is no shortage of exciting family films coming to theaters, from the highly-anticipated return of Woody and Buzz in Toy Story 4 from Pixar or Disney’s sequel to Frozen during the holidays, to Illumination’s second take on looking inside The Secret Life of Pets and the many Disney live-action remakes, such as The Lion King. There's a lot to choose from!

Among them is Missing Link, the newest adventure for stop-motion animation studio, Laika. The company is fairly new to the game as the upcoming movie will be Laika’s fifth feature film after breaking out with 2009’s Coraline. The studio has quickly gained intrigue among audiences for its unique approach to filmmaking, whether that be through its innovative behind-the-scenes process (that is so detailed it will break your brain), touching stories or bold style.

During the Los Angeles press day for Missing Link, a couple of the stars told CinemaBlend just what it is about Laika that attracted them to voicing their new characters. First, here’s what Zach Galifianakis, who plays Susan the Sasquatch, said:

When you think about it, this is true! While there are beautiful advancements happening in CGI animation everyday, there can be an overwhelmingly colorful feeling to it that leaves viewers looking into a video game-like atmosphere. Laika’s films bring a little something extra because the characters are actual puppets that are filmed on real sets masterfully produced in the studio. It’s a unique art form that deserves a certain appreciation that few animation companies are doing.

Zoe Saldana, who plays Adelina Fortnight, echoed some of Galifianakis’ sentiments along with adding in some love for Missing Link’s story as well. In her words:

Take a look at Zach Galifianakis and Zoe Saldana discuss working with Laika from my interview below:

As the actress notes, what sets Missing Link apart from what other family-friendly studios deliver is its storytelling style which often goes outside of the box of the expected. For this adventure, each of the characters have their own quirks and flaws evident to the audience from the beginning. Hugh Jackman’s character of Lionel Frost for example is an adventurer with selfish motivations.

The trio of adventurers travel across the globe in hopes of finding Susan’s long-lost cousins, the Yeti in Missing Link out in theaters on April 12.

Laika’s latest stop-motion adventure, Missing Link, enlisted hilarious comedian Zach Galifianakis to voice the adorably awkward sasquatch. The actor known for The Hangover movies, the deadpan web show Between Two Ferns and the FX series Baskets brings to life some of the biggest laughs and sweetest moments in the family film, including some that were brought forth by his own comedic genius.

I recently had the chance to speak to Zach Galifianakis during the Missing Link press junket in Los Angeles. During our interview, I asked him how much he was involved in crafting the personality of his animated character. Here’s what he said:

If you’ve seen the trailers for Missing Link thus far, this likely rings a bell! In the animated movie, the adventurer Bigfoot calls upon for help to find his long lost cousins is Lionel Frost (played by Hugh Jackman), who drums up a rapport with the tall furry creature. The only problem is he doesn’t have a name. When Lionel asks him he goes for Susan… yes, Susan. While the name isn’t exactly what Lionel is expecting the legendary beast to name himself, considering the animal’s soft nature and quirky sensibility, it’s oddly fitting. Check out Zach Galifianakis talk about the improvised line below:

The improvised line is perfect to cut the tension in the scene, and moviegoers will likely find themselves remembering this cute tidbit of the movie long after they leave the theater. It’s interesting to know that Zach Galifianakis was actually the one to come up with this line for the film, though the actor also credits Missing Link writer/director Chris Butler, who was also behind Kubo and the Two Strings and Paranorman over at Laika’s incredible animation studio when it comes to crediting the origins of the character.

Missing Link is the fifth movie from the stop-motion company and Susan is the heaviest lead character the studio has crafted so far with its puppeteering technology and life-like sets. The movie is its most ambitious project yet, as it featured over 100 actual sets portraying locations from across the globe as Susan, Lionel and Adelina (played by Zoe Saldana) search for the treasured land of Shangri-La. You can check out Missing Link in theaters on April 12.

It’s rare that a super villain can achieve anywhere near the same amount of popularity that the hero they frequently battle, but The Joker is definitely at that level. Debuting in 1940’s Batman #1 (the same issue where Catwoman first appeared), the Clown Prince of Crime has long been cemented as the Caped Crusader’s arch-nemesis, so naturally he’s also been adapted in other media numerous times. In fact, we’ve reached a point where The Joker is now the star of his own movie, and he won’t even be fighting Batman!

As one can logically assume from this kind of prominence, The Joker isn’t a simple role. With so many years of history, there are various ways one can play this character, so with that in mind, we’ve decided to look at the actors who’ve bring this cackling fiend to life on the silver screen. Just to be clear, this feature is only discussing theatrical portrayals of Joker, although I do recommend checking out Cameron Monaghan’s performances as Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska on the Fox series Gotham, as those twins cover the Joker spectrum excellently.

Cesar Romero's Joker in Batman (The 1966 Movie)

Although Batman made his first live action appearance in a 1943 film serial, it’d be another 23 years before The Joker got to follow suit in the live action Batman TV series. Cesar Romero, who had an extensive movie and TV resume and was arguably known best beforehand as The Cisco Kid in six Westerns released between 1939 and 1941, was cast as the Clown Prince of Crime, and for the most part, he nailed the character quite well. Modeled off how Joker was portrayed in the Silver Age of Comics, when superhero stories were more kid-friendly, Romero’s Joker was more of a goofy prankster than a psychopathic murderer, which fit with the TV series’ tone nicely. Romero also refused to shave off his mustache when playing The Joker, requiring the white makeup be applied over the facial hair.

Two months after the Batman Season 1 finale aired, these versions of the characters made the jump to the big screen in the first ever full-length theatrical Batman movie, simply and appropriately titled Batman. Cesar Romero’s Joker teamed up with Frank Gorshin’s Riddler, Lee Meriwether’s Catwoman and Burgess Meredith’s Penguin teaming up to cause all kinds of trouble, with this clip demonstrating their dynamic together and Romero’s overall Joker personality.

Naturally, Romero’s Joker in the Batman movie didn’t differ in any way from how he played the character on the Batman TV series, and the movie was critically well-received and performed decently commercially. In the grand scheme of things, while Romero’s Joker is definitely not nearly as frightening as later versions of Joker, he still has a sizable amount of fans all these years later.

Jack Nicholson's Joker in Batman (The 1989 Movie)

As popular as the 1960s Batman TV series was and still is, there’s no question that it’s campy and kooky, basically meaning you can show it to fans of all ages. The 1989 Batman movie, on the other hand, isn’t something you necessarily want to show to the kids. It marked the Caped Crusader’s first on-screen entry into adult territory, and Jack Nicholson was hired to play The Joker in this tale. Nicholson was unquestionably the biggest actor in this movie thanks to his performances in Chinatown and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and he beat out actors like Brad Dourif, Tim Curry, John Lithgow and James Woods for the role.

Jack Nicholson had many memorable moments as The Joker in Batman, but arguably the weirdest one was when he and his goons defaced the paintings inside a museum while dancing to Prince music.

There were two chief differences with Jack Nicholson’s iteration of The Joker compared to how he’s depicted in the comics: one, we knew his real name (Jack Napier), and two, he was the one who murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents as opposed to the traditional culprit, Joe Chill. Beyond that, though, Nicholson’s Joker was a relatively faithful adaptation of the super villain, from gaining his clownish visage after falling into a vat of chemicals to preferring to kill people “artistically” and with dramatic flair. We were only treated to one appearance from this Joker, although had the movie Batman Unchained moved forward, the plan was for Nicholson’s Joker to appear when Batman hallucinated him after being dosed with Scaercrow’s fear gas. In any case, for nearly two decades, it’s safe to say that Nicholson’s Joker was the definitive live action Joker, and even now, he’s still fondly remembered by many for portraying the character not as a pest, but as the psychopathic murderer he is at his core.

Mark Hamill Voice Acting Joker in Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm

Obviously everyone has their favorite version of The Joker, but it’s not exaggerating to say that most Batman fans label Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill, as the definitive voice of the Clown Prince of Crime. Hamill has voiced across Joker across numerous projects for nearly 30 years, but he’s chiefly known for playing the character within the DC Animated Universe, specifically Batman: The Animated Series. A year after that TV show debuted, it jumped to the big screen with Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm, which didn’t fare well commercially during its theatrical run, but was met with critical acclaim and has had a wonderful home video life.

Serving as the secondary antagonist in Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm, Mark Hamill’s Joker was largely the same as it was on television. He could be wacky and absurd one minute, but then turn on a dime and become incredibly horrifying the next minute. This was highlighted nicely when Joker first shows up to meet Salvatore Valestra, his boss from his pre-clown days.

However, because the movie wasn’t subject to the same censorship rules Batman: The Animated Series had to follow airing on Fox Kids, that allowed more wiggle room with making Joker more adult. Even under a PG rating, Mask of the Phantasm got away with Joker much more adult, such as him actually killing people and making sexual innuendos. While I’ll argue that the direct-to-video Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker gave us the darkest version of Mark Hamill’s Joker in the DCAU, Mask of the Phantasm is nonetheless a great example of how Batman’s arch-nemesis can tread a fine line between funny and terrifying.

Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight

After being teased at the end of Batman Begins, The Joker surfaced several years later as the main antagonist in The Dark Knight, played by Heath Ledger. I don’t need to remind any of you that Ledger’s take on The Joker was acclaimed and netted the actor a posthumous Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That said, it is worth remembering that in the lead-up to The Dark Knight’s release, there was skepticism about Christopher Nolan’s version of the Clown Prince of Crime. Along with Ledger’s previous acting work causing concern that he could properly pull off a villain like this, this version of The Joker is quite different from how he is usually depicted, particularly his physical appearance (wearing makeup, dying his hair green and having a Glasgow smile carved into his face) and use of traditional weapons rather than dangerous gag items.

Nevertheless, this Joker was incredibly dangerous, as shown in the scene when he killed Gambol (who’d put a bounty on Joker’s head) and basically turned the phrase “Why so serious?” into one of the most unsettling lines in movie history.

Ultimately, though, the spirit of the original Joker was alive in Heath Ledger’s Joker. He thrived off chaos, and rather than wanting to be just another powerful, money-obsessed crime boss in Gotham City, he aimed to spread anarchy and give the people a better class of criminal. Ledger’s Joker was definitely a more politically-skewed version of the character, but he went all out with giving audiences something incredibly different from what had come before, which included locking himself in a hotel room for six weeks to figure out his Joker’s voice, movements and mannerisms. The result was that Ledger’s Joker is not only widely considered to be the best live action interpretation of the cackling madman, but also one of the best movie villains overall.

Jared Leto's Joker in Suicide Squad

Eight years after we watched Heath Ledger’s Joker nearly bring Gotham City to its knees, Jared Leto put his own spin on the character in Suicide Squad, the first movie not to have Batman and Joker directly fighting one another. Although Leto’s Joker saw the return of some of Joker’s traditional physical traits, like naturally chalk-white skin and green hair, like Ledger, he also had some drastic differences, like tattoos covering his whole body and bejeweled teeth. Because Suicide Squad featured his main squeeze, Harley Quinn, in her first live action film appearance, his role in the movie revolved around his relationship with her: how he manipulated Harleen Qunizel when she was a psychiatrist at Arkham Asylum, how he became depressed after she was imprisoned and his efforts to free her from Task Force X.

Like his comic book counterpart, Jared Leto’s Joker was also a powerful figure in Gotham City, as show in this clip where he kills another crime boss simply for making a lustful comment about Harley Quinn.

Although Suicide Squad was a commercial hit, it was thrashed critically, and Jared Leto’s Joker performance was among the more negatively received elements. For starters, Joker didn’t get that much screen time in the movie, so that meant for some people, there wasn’t enough scenes to properly judge this version of the character. Others were just dissatisfied with this Joker’s physical appearance and/or his weird mannerisms, or just the fact that he came across as a standard, if eccentric, gangster rather than the colorful super villain we know best. It also didn’t help that Leto’s refusal to break character during principal photography led to him doing some crazy things, including sending bizarre gifts like a briefcase full of bullets, a live rat and used condoms. So Jared Leto’s Joker performance certainly isn’t one of the more popular ones, but he may have an opportunity leave a better impression in the future. Assuming he doesn’t become too busy with playing Morbius the Living Vampire or DCEU plans don’t change further, that is.

Zach Galifianakis Voice Acting Joker in The Lego Batman Movie

The Lego Batman Movie is a humorous celebration of Batman’s decades-long history, so naturally The Joker would be involved in the festivities. This movie portrays Batman and Joker’s feud through a romantic-like lens, so when the former tells the latter that he doesn’t mean anything special to him, Joker is hurt. But that just leads Joker to crafting his most ambitious plan yet: surrendering both himself and the rest of Gotham City’s super villains into police custody, and then tricking Batman into sending him into the Phantom Zone when the Caped Crusader suspects he’s up to something. The result: Joker allying himself with villains from other areas of pop culture, escaping the Phantom Zone and attempting to destroy Gotham City. Eventually Batman, having realized he’d been selfish to everyone in his life, “makes up” with The Joker, and the two work together to save the city and send the other villains back to the Phantom Zone before resuming their usual rivalry.

The scene when Joker surrenders himself to the GCPD is a good demonstration of how Zach Galifianakis’ Joker has a more playful edge, but still acts incredibly suspicious.

While there’s nothing wrong with Zach Galifianakis’ Joker performance, there’s also nothing particularly exceptional about it either. It simply sounds like Galifianakis as you hear him in movies like The Hangover and Keeping Up with the Joneses. The actor is amusing enough in the role and is given some good lines, but ultimately, there’s nothing particularly memorable about it. Which is fine, as Galifianakis does a satisfiable job with what he’s given, and fans of the actor will likely appreciate what he did. If The Lego Batman Movie 2 does move forward, the filmmakers might as well bring him back for it.

Joaquin Phoenix's Joker In The Upcoming Movie

Admittedly, we can’t comment too much yet on what’s in store for Joker since the movie is months away from being released. That said, from what’s been revealed from this movie so far, both officially and unofficially, this is going to be a significantly different depiction of the Clown Prince of Crime. For one thing, Joker is telling the eponymous character’s origin story without Batman’s involvement. Bruce Wayne will be in the movie, but as a child and with both of his parents still around. Then there’s the fact that like Heath Ledger’s Joker, Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker is wearing clown makeup instead of falling into a vat of chemicals. However, the leaked set photos and videos show Phoenix’s Joker leading a crime wave across Gotham City, so clearly this incarnation of the character is just as talented in igniting chaos as his predecessors.

Although Joaquin Phoenix had expressed interest in starring in a comic book movie as early as 2014, he was more interested in doing a “character study”-kind of movie, hence why he declined to play Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Since Joker doesn’t take place within the DCEU and isn’t adhering closely to the comics source material, this allowed Phoenix more freedom with putting his own stamp on the main character, who in this continuity is Arthur Fleck, a failed stand-up comedian who is driven insane and turns to crime after being disregarded by society. We’ll have to wait for a trailer to get our first taste of Phoenix’s Joker performance, but at the very least, this movie will be an interesting experiment that could shake up the comic book movie genre, as well as satisfy Phoenix’s desire to contribute to the genre without being locked in for numerous sequels.

Be sure to let us know in the comments below not only which of the above actors gave your favorite Joker performance, but to name anybody you like who played the character on TV, direct-to-video movies or video games. Joker hits theaters on October 4.

Disney's A Wrinkle in Time opened well at the box office in its first theatrical weekend, which looks like cause for celebration. The film has received ample praise for its diverse and eclectic cast, which includes Baskets star Zach Galifianakis as The Happy Medium. Galifianakis delivers a surprisingly emotional performance as the cosmic entity in the sci-fi adventure, and in a recent interview with CinemaBlend, the comedian revealed that he thought he wouldn't get cast in A Wrinkle in Time because of how emotional he got when he met director Ava DuVernay. As Galifianakis explained to us:

Right off the bat, Zach Galifianakis made sure to note that he wanted to work with Ava DuVernay from the very beginning. He had seen her work on 2016's 13th, and that set the tone of his anticipation to meet her. However, he got unexpectedly emotional while talking to her at dinner, and walked away not anticipating a job offer to star in the movie. Alas, despite his inability to keep it together, DuVernay opted to extend an offer to him.

Zach Galifianakis' meeting with Ava DuVernay sounds like an interesting encounter, and it raises a question as to why Galifianakis got emotional in the first place. On that note, The Hangover star continued in his interview with CinemaBlend and explained that DuVernay asked him questions and appealed to him on an emotional level that male directors never have. Galifianakis continued:

Of course, it's also arguably surprising that Zack Galifianakis got cast as The Happy Medium in A Wrinkle in Time because he's so fundamentally different from the character in the source material (though, in fairness, the movie makes a large number of changes to the novel as it is). In the original book, The Happy Medium is a woman with a far more pronounced happy-go-lucky sensibility. In the movie, the character has a more profound emotional core and an undercurrent of sadness. Given Galifianakis' emotional introduction to Ava DuVernay at their first meeting, perhaps that's what ultimately sealed the deal.

A Wrinkle in Time is now in theaters, so take a look at CinemaBlend's full review of the movie and our review roundup to see what critics are saying and check out the latest Disney offering for yourself!

When it was announced that Zach Galifianakis would be playing the Joker in The Lego Batman Movie, the cinematic community instantly agreed in unison that it was a perfect choice. However, it turns out that Zach Galifianakis was actually a little disappointed when he eventually learned that he'd only be voicing the Joker, because he originally believed that he'd be following in the footsteps of Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Jared Leto. Zach Galifianakis recently recalled being offered the role,

It didn't take Zach Galifianakis long to get over this disappointment, though. Rather than pushing to play a live-action version of The Joker he instead quickly signed on the dotted line just to voice the villain. It was a wise decision, too, because The Lego Batman Movie was met with superlative reviews when it was released back in February, while it also grossed the impressive total of $305.2 million at the box office.

The role of the Joker in the Lego Cinematic Universe promises to be pretty lucrative one for Zach Galifianakis, too. That's because there's every chance that, following on from The Lego Batman Movie's success, a sequel will be ordered; he's almost certainly going to be asked to reprise his role in The Lego Movie 2. He'd better be, otherwise plenty of movie fans will be bitterly disappointed.

While Zach Galifianakis would have been chomping at the bit to sink his teeth into a role that Jack Nicholson made so iconic in Tim Burton's Batman and Heath Ledger won a posthumous Academy Award for following his efforts in The Dark Knight, it was umpteen times easier for him to just record his vocals for The Joker and then allow the animation gurus to do their work.

In fact, Zach Galifianakis was able to record his performance as The Joker in relative luxury, especially in comparison to the usual rigors of production. The Lego Batman Movie's director Chris McKay admitted in the same interview with The West that not only did they travel to Canada at one point to record Zach Galifianakis' vocals, but they also repeatedly recorded additional vocals from Will Arnett, Rosario Dawson, and Michael Cera over Skype.

We'll finally get to see if Zach Galifianakis will reprise his role as The Joker in The Lego Movie Sequel when it's released on February 8, 2019. And considering how easy it is to record his vocals, they really don't have an excuse for not including Zach Galifianakis as The Joker once again. Those of you eager for more Lego movies can take solace in the fact that The Lego Ninjago Movie will be in cinemas on September 22 of this year.

There are a variety of reasons why a show only appeals to a select group of people. A lot of comedies tend to fall into that category, due to how subjective humor can be. Baskets, the FX dramedy, is one such show that doesn't appeal to everyone, and Zach Galifianakis has no trouble telling people that before they sit down to watch an episode. The Hangover star created Baskets, and even he admits that there's a pretty good chance that you aren't going to like his show. Check out what Galifianakis had to say about the specificity of Baskets.

In an interview with NPR, Zach Galifianakis spoke about the appeal of his show Baskets, airing its second season on FX. The show has a bit of an odd flavor, which Galifianakis mostly attributes to its balancing of drama and comedy. Baskets is a "weird mix" of drama and comedy, a show that can be strange and dramatic and then immediately undercut it with a joke. That offbeat sense of tone isn't for everyone, but the more that a viewer sticks with it, the more they'll enjoy the show. Galifianakis admits that that's intentional on their part, creating a show that gets better the longer you watch it.

In case anyone hasn't watched the show, Baskets stars Galifianakis as Chip Baskets, a man with dreams of being a professional clown. But after he fails to get a degree from a prestigious clown school in Paris, he moves back home to work as a rodeo clown in California. The show follows Dale as he contends with his family while trying to find a place for a clown in this already clownish world. Galifianakis also pulls double duty as Chip's twin brother, Dale Baskets (yes, that's Chip and Dale), while Louie Anderson plays their mother Christine -- a role for which he won an Emmy.

Now that sounds like a very silly and strange show -- which it is -- but it also has its moments of drama. It's actually a little depressing watching Chip and Dale basically fail at most things and coupled with the show's offbeat tone and sense of humor. It's not really a show built for everyone, though that's not a bad thing.

Check out this clip of this week's episode of Baskets, "Marthager," for a small snippet of what the show is like.

Baskets airs on Thursday's at 10 p.m. EST on FX.

Seth Rogen's been on a role as of late, with Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and Sausage Party both treating him very well at the beginning and end of this summer season. And what does a talented individual on a role look to do but to parlay that winning streak for as long as possible? Well, it looks like that streak may have a slight detour in 2017, as one of Rogen's next films, The Something, just found itself pulled from its intended summer release date.

The space comedy, which stars Rogen, as well as Zack Galafianakis and Bill Hader, was scheduled to debut its story of first contact gone horribly wrong with a May 26th, 2017 debut. At least, it was, until Universal reportedly pulled the film from its slot, without a new date in mind as of yet. With Variety's report on the matter came three possible reasons for this decision, the first being is that this original release date is home to two huge competitors.

Both Disney's Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men Tell No Tales and the space drama, Life, are opening on the same day, assuring a proven and would-be tentpole will be going to battle, leaving room for very little else. But the other, and probably more pressing issues, that have possibly delayed The Something on the launch pad, are a possible scheduling conflict, as well as budgetary woes.

If there are scheduling problems with The Something's production window and its cast, then we're finding it hard to figure out just why. Both Seth Rogen and Zach Galifianakis have projects on the books for 2017, but those projects, among which are Zeroville and The Lego Batman Movie, are either in post-production or merely 'announced'. While any last minute re-shoots, ADR, and publicity appearances will obviously be required from both stars, there just might be scheduling problems involved. However, we're more likely to believe that Universal's balking over the budget, especially considering the 2016 they've had.

While it has been a pretty good year for Universal, what with The Secret Life of Pets and Jason Bourne providing them two solid hits, the comedy field has been less than forgiving with their latest efforts. Ride Along 2's early success aside, offerings such as The Boss and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping have brought in decent to dismal showings, with no real break-out hit to be seen. So obviously, future comedy projects will be a source of budgetary scrutiny in their house, and The Something will either need to back up their expenditures, or scale back to fit the studio's expectations.

Considering the studio hasn't outright cancelled The Something, there's still hope to see Seth Rogen, Zach Galifianakis, and Bill Hader all making the world laugh with one false step for mankind. For now though, the project is in a holding pattern, and as soon as there's an update on the project's official status, we'll report back with the latest!

It turns out that Zach Galifianakis and Jon Hamm are old friends. The Hangover actor admitted as much to me and a select group of film journalists during our set-visit to Keeping Up With The Joneses last April. This means that Galifianakis knows how infuriatingly perfect Jon Hamm is. Want funny? Hamm is funnier than most comedians. Want charming? All you need to know is he was Don Draper. Want handsome? Just look at him. Which is why Galifianakis has now revealed that he finds Jon Hamm just a little bit annoying.

While talking to The Hangover actor during our trip to Atlanta, Georgia, Zach Galifianakis took a trip down memory lane with us, where he insisted that despite possessing the looks of a leading man, Jon Hamm is very much a "comedy guy." Galifianakis recalled:

Zach Galifianakis' adulation for Jon Hamm should come to the fore in Keeping Up With The Joneses. The film sees Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot playing Tim and Diana Jones, a married couple that moves into a quiet suburban neighborhood, which is where Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher's Jeff and Karen Gaffney call home.

The Gaffneys soon become convinced that there is more to the Joneses than meets the eye. This proves to be true, because they are indeed government spies, and soon both couples become embroiled in an international espionage plot.

After talking to Zach Galifianakis, we then had the chance to speak to Jon Hamm who also chatted about how long he has been pals with the comedian. Hamm admitted that he used to see Galifianakis perform on comedy nights down at Los Angeles' club Largo when he originally moved to the city.

Which basically means that Keeping Up With The Joneses has been over 20 years in the making. We'll be able to see if the combination of Zach Galifianakis and Jon Hamm is worthy of such a build up and works wonders when Keeping Up With The Joneses is finally released on October 21.

Jon Hamm has long proven that he has sensational comedic chops, thanks to his turns in 30 Rock, Bridesmaids and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. But, barring his vocal role in Minions, the Mad Men star is yet to star in an all-out comedy. That's set to change with Keeping Up With The Joneses, in which he has been paired with the stellar talents of arguably the genre's most formidable leading man, Zach Galifianakis. Add in both Isla Fisher and Wonder Woman herself Gal Gadot, and Keeping Up With The Joneses becomes a tantalizing prospect, something that its trailer below instantly proves.

Obviously any film that features Gal Gadot walking around in her underwear is going to entice a healthy audience. But, aside from the Israeli actress showing off her assets, Keeping Up With The Joneses' trailer delivers on pretty much every front that it aims for. Not only are there several laugh out loud moments in the trailer alone - especially Isla Fisher's admission that she and Zach Galifianakis' Jeff, "Do it really fast in case the kids come running into our room," as well as Galifianakis trying to run away from Fisher after being caught by the gun-wielding Joneses - but even the action looks explosive and impressive, too.

It also helps that couples appear to have been perfectly cast. Both Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher have the relatable, sweet but eccentric oddball routine down to a tee, and together they should play off one another in a hilarious manner. Meanwhile, surely there isn't a better looking and more charismatic pairing in Hollywood than Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot, who take the roles of Tim Jones and Diana -- fingers crossed this is purely a Wonder Woman reference -- Jones.

The trailer does a wonderful job of proving just how alluring, intimidating, and hypnotic Jon Hamm and Gal Gadot would be as a couple. Especially if it turned out that they were undercover spies, too. Because it's their arrival into the sweet, pleasant, but kind of boring suburban life of Zach Galifianakis and Isla Fisher's Jeff and Karen Gaffney that kick starts the plot for Keeping Up With The Joneses. After Karen becomes more and more intrigued by their seemingly perfect life she begins to spy on them and investigate their antics, which suddenly leads to them becoming embroiled in an international espionage lot.

Originally touted for a release at the end of March, 20th Century Fox rather wisely decided to push Keeping Up With The Joneses back to October 21, so that it wasn't overwhelmed by the splurge of summer blockbuster releases. And since it genuinely looks high-octane and hilarious, giving it some room to find its audience looks like it was a very good call.

With this week’s return of Derek Zoolander, we will make our long awaited return to the land of the really, really, ridiculously good looking. In addition to being really good looking, Zoolander and his friend Hansel are also really stupid. Most of the time stupid characters are simply sidekicks meant to make the hero look smart by comparison.

Sometimes, however, on rare occasions, stupid people can be done so well that the audience will follow them wherever they go. They achieve a level of brilliance within their own idiocy. But creating a truly beloved moron is no simple task. It’s so easy for a character to be as annoying to the audience as they are to the other people on screen. But we came up with a list of characters that we love even though they’re dumb as rocks.

Alan Garner - The Hangover

Everybody has that one friend. Luckily, for most of us he’s not as bad as Alan Garner. Don’t let the beard fool you, he’s a child. Alan appears to have stopped maturing and educating himself somewhere around the age of 10-years-old. He probably has more in common with Dustin Hoffman in Rainman than he realizes. He seems to be completely clueless to the world around him, especially his friends, who don’t even hide their varying degrees of disdain they have for the man. But the childlike joy is part of what we love about him. We wouldn’t have him any other way.

Inspector Clouseau - The Pink Panther

Inspector Clouseau, as played by Peter Sellers, of course (we’re pretending the Steve Martin thing never happened), is probably the greatest cinematic idiot of all time. So many have taken their cues from this great character. While the man is surely a fool who solves his cases more by accident than by any sort of skill, he’s also a victim. Murphy’s Law has it out for Jacques Clouseau. The entire world seems to have it out for him. Every object that isn’t nailed down is going to fall on him. If a pratfall is possible, it will occur. We suppose we can cue this up to a lack of awareness for his own surroundings, but seriously, after about the third movie you start to figure the world just doesn’t like this guy.

Brick Tamland - Anchorman: The Legend Of Ron Burgundy

Being the biggest idiot among the cast of Anchorman is no small feat, but somehow Steve Carell is able to do it the role of Brick Tamland. As terribly, terribly stupid as everybody on this list is, nobody else actually needs to be convinced that they’re not dead. That is unique to Brick. It’s amazing that Brick has been able to fake his way around pretending to be a functional human. Even beyond that, he’s somehow achieved a level of success. How does a man who is utterly unable to interact with other humans able to impress in a job interview?

Harry and Lloyd - Dumb And Dumber

We really can’t go much further without bringing up two of the biggest morons of modern cinema. If there’s anything better a good movie fool, it’s two, and though Harry and Lloyd are two people, we're counting them as one entry because they come as a single unit. You get the distinct impression that if either of these two were on their own they would have accidentally strangled themselves with a shoelace years ago. Luckily, there’s just enough of a brain between the two of them to get them through life. We’re pretty sure both these guys actually land someplace on the autism spectrum. We should probably stop laughing at them, it feels insulting and mean.

Nigel Tufnel - This Is Spinal Tap

There’s a stereotype that people in rock and roll are all idiots. Nigel Tufnel is the rule which proves the exception. As the faux documentarian of This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner is forced to ask questions of a man who is utterly incapable of giving coherent answers. He spends his life with a perpetual look of confusion on his face. His amps may go to 11, but we’re pretty sure his grey matter only makes it to about four. His cluelessness is so endearing, though, and to be fair, he can rock like nobody’s business.

Otto West - A Fish Called Wanda

There are all sorts of idiots in movies, but the worst are the ones who think they’re a lot smarter than they actually are. Otto West is a moron. At some point, he realized this, and so he tried to do things like read philosophy in order to be able to sound more intelligent. Now, he needs people to believe he’s brilliant. Of course, the inferiority complex that exists still forces him to utterly hate all things English because they come across as superior, even while he masquerades at being as smart as he thinks they are.

Mr. Bean

We almost didn’t include Mr. Bean here, because he’s really not a dumbass, he’s a stunted man-child and that’s not the same thing. The problem, of course, is that he’s not really a child. He’s a grown man. He’s also a complete numbskull. The literal definition of the word dumb, in that he’s also apparently unable to speak, Mr. Bean is in his own world and doesn’t let the fact that others are trying to live in any way impact his own existence. It’s best that he not deal with people because when he does he has no idea how to interact with anyone.

Frank Drebin - The Naked Gun

While Frank Drebin was designed as a modern Inspector Clouseau, he’s also a bit of a special case. Though Drebin is still a fool himself, forgetting to turn off his microphone when using the bathroom or dropping his hard hat into the gears of working machinery, he also exists in a world that doesn’t make a lot of sense. He can never seem to find his bearings. When he acts intelligently the world is foolish, and when he’s the fool it’s because the world is normal again. We can’t blame him for being perpetually lost. No, we can.

Clark Griswold - National Lampoon's Vacation

If Clark Griswold understood his limitations he’d be fine. It’s not that he thinks he’s brilliant, he thinks he’s normal. The problem is he’s still wrong. Clark Griswold is not your ordinary everyday fool. He’s an entirely unique fool. He’s not trying to do anything particularly special, he just wants to take his family on a nice vacation to Wally World. He’s the "lovable loser" type of idiot. He’s mostly harmless, until he tries to actually accomplish anything. Even the simplest things, like making sure his destination will be open when he gets there, are beyond him.

Navin R. Johnson - The Jerk

He was born a poor black child. From there begins the most epic journey for an idiot ever caught on film. Of course, in his case, Steve Martin's Navin R. Johnson is so stupid that he’s actually brilliant, looking at things in entirely different ways than the rest of the world. That doesn’t mean that he isn’t still a complete dumbass. Although, it’s possible that biggest idiots in the film are actually all the people who listen to him, somehow not realizing, or simply ignoring, the fact that has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. 

Seth Rogen has long been known for being a part of some fantastic ensembles, even on beyond his fellow Apatow gang cohorts. We'll soon see him team with the likes of Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Ike Barinholtz, Chloe Moretz, Carla Gallo and more in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, but his new space-set comedy The Something is starting to put together a team of perhaps even greater comedic talent.

The Hollywood Reporter has word that The Something has been taking some major steps forward recently, and has not only revealed that producer Rodney Rothman will be making his directorial debut with the project, but also a few of the fantastic actors who will be playing major roles in. In the film, a team of astronauts who have been stranded in space for years come across another ship... but that's all that's known about the plot so far. Ready to meet the main players?

As mentioned earlier, it looks like Seth Rogen will be headlining the cast, and it's a good fit if not just because of his long history working with Rodney Rothman. After serving as head writer for the Late Show With David Letterman for a few years, one of Rothman's first gigs was on the Judd Apatow-created series Undeclared - on which Rogen had a lead role. We know nothing about the character he will be playing in The Something - which is true for all of the announced actors in the cast - but we can presume that he will be an astronaut. He is also producing the film through his Point Grey banner.

Co-starring with Seth Rogen for the first time will be Zach Galifianakis - who has actually been spending a lot more time on the small screen recently than in movie theaters. His last feature effort was as part of the cast of Best Picture-winner Birdman, but has most recently been seen playing the titular lead on the new FX series Baskets. That being said, in 2016 we expect to see him in the Justin Chadwick-directed romantic drama Tulip Fever, Greg Mottola's suburban comedy Keeping Up With The Joneses, and Jared Hess' long delayed crime movie Masterminds.

The last actor of the three announced today is Bill Hader, who many will remember last teamed up with Seth Rogen in the brilliant Superbad back in 2007. Since then they have been a part of other big projects together, but have not necessarily shared any screen time together (like This Is 40 and 22 Jump Street). Needless to say, we're excited that the two funny men are getting back together.

Back in 2014 it was reported that Rose Byrne was also going to be a part of the cast of The Something, though her name isn't mentioned in the recent trade report, so it's unclear if she will still be in the film. Hopefully we'll hear more about this project soon!

If you’re looking for the archetypal Hollywood trilogy trajectory then The Hangover franchise is perfect. The original comedy is one of the finest examples of mainstream comedy in years. It has an ingenious premise, constantly keeps you hooked by its plotting, and is riotously funny. This momentum immediately ground to halt with the sequel, while the third film was just plain awful. And it turns out that Zach Galifianakis knows that The Hangover Part 2 and The Hangover Part 3 don’t match the quality of the original. In fact, he admitted that he wishes they’d only done one.

Zach Galifianakis, whose career absolutely sky-rocketed because of his performance as Alan in the 2009 original, made this admission during his appearance on WTF With Marc Maron. Galifianakis is currently doing the rounds to promote his quirky FX comedy, Baskets, but that didn’t stop him talking about his past. Which led him to make this admission about The Hangover sequels.

A quick look over at Rotten Tomatoes suggests that the critical consensus agrees with Zach Galifianakis’ assessment. The Hangover currently has a 79% rating over on the website, which is hardly surprising considering just how many genuinely laugh out loud moments the bombastic comedy includes.

The ratings take a sharp turn for the worse when it comes to the sequels. The Hangover Part 2 only has a 34% rating, while things get even worse with The Hangover Part 3, as it has just 19%. And those of you that have seen these instalments can probably testify just how poor both films are in comparison to the original.

But the good folks over at Warner Bros. Pictures would probably disagree with Zach Galifianakis’ viewpoint that The Hangover Part 2 and Part 3 shouldn’t ever have seen the light of day. While The Hangover grossed $467.5 million, the follow-up eclipsed this mammoth total by raking in a further $586.8 million. Sure, The Hangover 3 didn’t quite reach any of these totals, but its haul of $362 million was still a very healthy effort.

Plus, the success of these further follow-ups helped to cement Zach Galifianakis’ reputation as one of the most dangerous comedy talents in American cinema. While he felt honest enough to admit that The Hangover 2 and 3 weren’t quite up to par, it should also be noted that his other comedies, The Campaign, Due Date, and Dinner For Schmucks, suffered similar fates. Hopefully the comedies Masterminds and Keeping Up With The Joneses, both of which are due out this year, will help to finally correct this slide.

We will be seeing a lot of Batman's greatest nemesis, The Joker, on screen in the next few years. Not only will Jared Leto will be portraying the Clown Prince of Crime in David Ayer's 2016 blockbuster Suicide Squad - not to mention the larger DC Cinematic Universe - but the character will also be playing a key role in the upcoming LEGO Batman Movie. Up until today we haven't known who would be portraying this animated version of the classic villain, but now new reports are saying that the role is going to belong to Zach Galifianakis.

This exciting news was revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, which says that Galifianakis is now in final talks to be the villain in the upcoming feature. The actor is joining a cast that already includes Will Arnett, who will be reprising his role as Batman from The LEGO Movie; and Michael Cera, who will be playing the Dark Knight's young sidekick, Robin. As you might expect, it looks like The Joker will be the central villain of LEGO Batman, so this will be a significant voice role for the comedian.

Since really breaking out with his performance in Todd Phillips' The Hangover, Zach Galifianakis has very much become a live action star - but he has developed an extensive resume as a voice actor as well. This includes a great turn in 2011's Puss In Boots, but his credits mostly include animated television shows - including Bob's Burgers (where he has a recurring role), The Simpsons, American Dad, and TripTank. One can imagine his experience serving him quite well while creating his own version of The Joker.

Of course, Galifianakis will also have a certain amount of pressure on him starring in LEGO Batman, given that voicing The Joker is a big deal in voice-actor communities. Mark Hamill's version from both Batman: The Animated Series and the Batman: Arkham video games is considered some of the greatest work the medium has ever seen, but the list of greats to take on the esteemed role also includes Kevin Michael Richardson, John Dimaggio, Frank Welker, Troy Baker, and more. Knowing that Galifianakis is a thoughtful and talented performer, it will be great to see how he makes his version of the character special.

Chris McKay, who worked as the animation supervisor on The LEGO Movie, is taking the helm of LEGO Batman, and while Phil Lord and Chris Miller are producing, the script is being written by Seth Grahame-Smith (Dark Shadows, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter). At this stage, very little is known about the plot of the film, but we can likely expect that the next few weeks will be filled with more casting announcements for notable characters in the Batman canon. The film is still in its early days, but has been dated by Warner Bros. for release on February 10, 2017.

I hope you weren’t getting super pumped up for the release of the Zach Galifianakis and Kristen Wiig-starring heist comedy Masterminds, because that is no longer happening. With Relativity Media filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, they can’t afford to market the movie and it has been pulled from their release schedule.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a representative for Relativity Media, which is currently bankrupt and up for sale, confirmed that they did indeed remove Masterminds from the schedule—a release already pushed back my months—though they declined to elaborate as to why. However, a source "close to the company," whatever that means, did reveal that this move was made because they don’t have the capital to market the movie. It’s easy to imagine how that might be a problem when planning to release a film.

With debts and liabilities totaling more than $1 billion, the company, founded by Ryan Kavanaugh in 2004, owes money to a collection of other businesses and vendors. Back on July 30, Relativity filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and they have a court hearing scheduled for later this week, August 14. An auction is now in the works—Toronto-based Catalyst Capital already purchased $130 million of the debt. As Relativity is a sizeable player in the industry, the people they owe money to have an interest in them stay in business, but there are obvious issues that need to be addressed.

Relativity’s financial woes have already had a big impact on a number of movies in the pipeline. The Crow reboot lost most of its production team, who walked off as part of the fallout. Sony recently terminated a $3 million dollar deal for the distribution rights to the upcoming skating comedy The Bronze, leaving it, like Masterminds, without any source of promotional funds. The upcoming action thriller Autobahn, with a star-studded cast of Felicity Jones, Nicholas Hoult, Anthony Hopkins, and Ben Kingsley, is likely in the same boat.

There do appear to be some releases that will go ahead as scheduled, however. THR notes that Red, a joint venture between Relativity and EurpaCorp, is not included in the larger bankruptcy proceedings, so the films in that arena should be unaffected. That includes titles like the actioner The Transporter Refueled, still slated for a September 4 release; the home invasion horror film Shut In, penciled in for February 19, 2016; and The Lake, a thriller about Navy SEALs finding treasure, which stars J.K. Simmons and should still be released on July 15, 2016.

Masterminds was already pushed back from an August release to an October 9 date. With a cast that includes Zach Galifianakis, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis, and Owen Wilson, you have to imagine it will see the light of day eventually, but it looks like we’re going to have to wait a while longer until this Relativity mess is sorted out.

The debut trailer for Masterminds has hit, proving that a semi-biographical, $17 million bank robbery, called one of the largest cash heists ever on American soil, can be viewed through the lens of slapstick hilarity.

True crime now meets a star-studded consortium of contemporary comedy’s best, like Kristen Wiig, Zach Galifianakis, and Owen Wilson, who look to prove that a "bullet between the biscuits" won’t stop a collective case of low IQ larceny. Especially when there are so many other things that can stop them.

Yes, that message in the beginning that reads, "based on a true story," is not just an example of the same sarcasm from which the title is derived. Masterminds is based (albeit loosely) on a 1997 Loomis Fargo & Company robbery in Charlotte, NC that saw $17.3 million go missing. In fact, the film was originally titled Loomis Fargo and even had Jim Carrey in its sights to star at one point. Despite the seriousness of the crime, hindsight has clearly bestowed some levity on the situation, relegating it to the "stupid criminals" file. As a result, this heist flick seems to carry plenty of "dumb yokel" type humor that plays well amongst the interflow of the cast.

Zach Galifianakis and Kristen Wiig play David and Kelly, a stupidly scheming couple whose jobs at an armored car company gives them ideas for a possible heist of a secure vault containing a fortune. However, their plan involves a sinister but equally obtuse friend, Steve (Owen Wilson). He doesn't exactly need tremendous powers of persuasion to help craft a plan where David does all the work and gives him and his buddies the money, with promises of wiring it to David in bits after he is safely down in Mexico. (This makes him either a redneck Bernie Madoff or a fake Nigerian Prince.) Of course, things don’t exactly go down as planned. Soon enough, everything goes awry and even gets potentially fatal when Steve hires a hitman (Jason Sudeikis) as the battle for the misbegotten loot begins.

In the director’s chair for this cinematic crime calamity is Jared Hess, whose affinity for showcasing the absurdity of normalness was on full display in his signature comedy films, Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. He has a solid cast of A-list comedic talent who excel at playing stupid when it comes to Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson, and Jason Sudeikis. Plus, the film even features three out of the four cast members of the upcoming all-female Ghostbusters movie with Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones. The collective comedic talents seem in place to make this cretinous caper a memorable lesson in what not to do… in crime and in life.

Masterminds looks to prove that the prospect of opening a teen camp for at-risk horses is not quite enough justification for larceny when it hits theaters on August 7.

Brad Pitt has been making the rounds to hype up his new film Fury, popping up on Jimmy Fallon and more. More recently he appeared on Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis to share stories from the set. Galifianakis goes for the comedic jugular in the sketch, but it’s the sort of thing you should experience for yourself. Check out Between Two Ferns, below.

The video segment starts out with Galifianakis’ mispronunciation and misspelling of Pitt’s name, which is amusing, since Galifianakis’ name often suffers the same fate. The comedian is just getting started, though. He rips about tabloid photos in Playgirl years ago, before finally getting to Pitt’s new movie, which he dubs “Furry.” The pot shots don’t end there, however.

My personal favorite portion of this video is when Galifianakis asks Pitt if it is “hard to maintain a suntan?” Pitt takes the bait, asking, “Why?” Zach Galifianakis’ response is, “Because you live in your wife’s shadow.” While I think that’s highly debatable, it’s still a pretty sick burn.

Those who make it to the end of the 5-minute segment will be rewarded with gum-swapping between the two men, a fantastic Jennifer Aniston Friends reference and Brad Pitt spitting his gum out onto Galifianakis’ face.

If you need to get more of a Between Two Ferns fix, you can catch the one where President Obama gets in a few good comments, the one where Will Ferrell wears a Lakers shirt with a mismatched hat, and the one where Bradley Cooper melts down.

Many of us dream of fame and fortune. Zach Galifianakis has both. But despite what certain celeb mags might have you believe, he's not just like us. He could really do without the whole fame thing.

Along with the likes of Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts and Edward Norton, Zach Galfianakis turned out for the New York Film Festival premiere of Alejandro G. Inarritu's outstanding comedy Birdman. (Read our rave review here.) There, the star of The Hangover trilogy dropped a bomb, as reported by THR:

Michael Keaton, who went from being the world's Batman to willfully stepping out of the spotlight, echoed Galifianakis's disdain for our modern concept of celebrity, adding, "Anyone can be a celebrity now, this is not a big deal anymore."

Edward Norton scoffed at the idea of celebrity insisting that viral video stars are better known, saying, "The dog running into the wall is a bigger celebrity than any of us!"

In case you have no idea what Norton's talking about, here's the vid:

The seeming irony of these statements is that they were made at the press conference for Birdman, a film that centers on a has-been (Keaton) who is fighting desperately to remain relevant and famous. Alejandro G. Inarritu said the inspiration for the film "came from this struggling battle that we all have with our ego." And plenty of egos clash within its narrative. As Keaton's best friend, Galifianakis councils him and soothes his ego repeatedly as the old movie star gears up for his Broadway debut, a moment that will for better or worse define his career. For his part, Norton plays an arrogant and tempestuous Broadway icon who deigns to join the production, but only on his own terms. This causes him to repeatedly but heads with Keatons' willful writer/director/producer/star, and culminates in that fight scene in skivvies that has been teased in the trailers.

However, it's worth noting that Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance is a film that's critical of our need for some sense of celebrity, especially in an age where the internet makes people (and sleepwalking animals) famous for a variety of inane reasons. It's a film that explores how celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be. So in some sense, it's press conference--where the snapping of photos was so intense that Norton had to ask one photog to silence his clicking camera during the Q&A--was a pretty perfect venue for Galifianakis to proclaim: "Being a celebrity is shit."

Birdman opens Friday.

It's been a while since we've heard from Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess, but his next production is gaining major buzz as it announces a trifecta of top-notch comedic talent.

THR reports Kristen Wiig has signed on to co-star with Zach Galifianakis and Owen Wilson in a crime comedy previously called Loomis Fargo. The project, which Relativity is producing, is currently untitled, but production will begin this July in North Carolina. So we're expecting a new name to surface shortly. In the meantime, I'll be referring to this as The Movie Formerly Known as Loomis Fargo.

The Movie Formerly Known as Loomis Fargo is based on a true crime that involved a group of Southern morons who remarkably managed to pull of the one of the biggest cash robberies in American history, stealing nearly $20 million from a Loomis Fargo armored truck. It's likely that the company doesn't want their name as the title of a movie about a heist that certainly is a bit of a stain on its reputation.

Zach Galifianakis is set to star as a miserable armored car driver, who develops an unhealthy crush on one of his co-workers. Kristen Wiig will play this love interest who lures Galifianakis's driver into a plan to rip-off a bank vault. She's a femme fatale type, seducing this dope into a plan with promises of love, sex and devotion he's unlikely to receive. THR doesn't specify what role Wilson will have in The Movie Formerly Known as Loomis Fargo.

We first heard about this proposed comedy back in the fall of 2010. At that point, Jared Hess was already attached to helm for what would seem to be his follow-up to 2009's Gentlemen Broncos. However, Relativity was in talks with Jim Carrey for the one Galifianakis has since stepped into. When Owen Wilson joined The Movie Formerly Known as Loomis Fargo, Carrey was still attached. No mention is made of why he has been replaced by Galifianakis, but we're not complaining.

The script originally penned by Saturday Night Live scribe Emily Spivey had since gotten an overhaul by Chris Bowman and Hubbel Palmer, both who collaborated with Hess on the short-lived Napoleon Dynamite television show. Remember how that was a thing that happened?

The Movie Formerly Known as Loomis Fargo will open August 14th, 2015. In the meantime, look for Jared Hess's Don Verdean, a comedy starring Sam Rockwell, Amy Ryan, and Jemaine Clement that is now in production.

They teamed up for the 2012 political comedy The Campaign. Now Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis are reuniting for an outrageous comedy that is based on true events, and is decidedly stranger than fiction.

The Wrap reports Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis will headline an upcoming comedy from director Richard Linklater, best-known for his Before Trilogy: Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight. Called Larry's Kidney, Linklater's latest will focus on the true but wild story of Daniel Asa Rose, a writer and newspaper editor pulled into a world of espionage, underground crime, and medical tourism when his estranged cousin asks him to help save his life.

Larry's Kidney will be based on Rose's heralded comedic memoir, which boasts a mouthful of a title: Larry's Kidney: Being the True Story of How I Found Myself in China with My Black Sheep Cousin and His Mail-Order Bride, Skirting the Law to Get Him a Transplant--and Save His Life. It's a bulky title but a great elevator pitch that teases out several elements that could make for a scintillating and silly screenplay.

The specifics of Daniel and Asa's story as are these. Daniel Asa Rose was a celebrated writer and family man, but he hadn't talked to his cousin Larry for fifteen years following a falling out over Larry's calling the FBI on Daniel for lying on his mortgage application. But when Larry called Daniel in a panic because his liver was failing, all the bad blood was forgotten, and Daniel agreed to do whatever it took to save his cousin's life. With liver transplants in the U.S. being hard to come by with a waitlist of some 74,000 people, Larry--who Daniel has described as "gun-toting couch potato"--decides to travel to China to have the procedure done.

This is called medical tourism, and not only is it taboo, it's often illegal. In China, it's forbidden to perform organ transplants on Westerners. But Larry is confident his money will convince whoever needs convincing. So the cousins book passage. But while they're at it, Larry also decides he may as well take the opportunity to engage in another taboo activity, picking up a mail order bride. Funded by a quarter million dollar medical settlement, Larry and Daniel head to China to seek out love and a kidney. Along the way they will attempt to elude law enforcement and reconnect as family.

Will Ferrell is set to star as Daniel Asa Rose, while Zach Galifianakis has been lined up to play Larry. It's a character and plot he seems well suited to, as Larry's Kidney could easily be the premise for The Hangover: Part IV -- Alan Needs A Kidney.

Notably, this won't be the first comedy that Richard Linklater has adapted from real life. In 2011, he co-wrote and helmed the dark comedy/biopic Bernie about a small town Texan murderer named Bernie Tiede. The film and its anti-hero made headlines recently when Tiede was released from prison, in part because Linklater offered him an apartment within his own home. It'll be interesting to see if Linklater grows as close to cousin Larry.

Few knew what the future held for director Michel Hazanavicius when he took home the Oscar for Best Director and Best Picture at the Academy Awards for The Artist. A French director making a silent film in the 21st century? It's hard to figure out where to go from there. But if a new, long-dormant project called Will kicks up, it appears Michel Hazanavicius could be moving towards broad comedy.

Variety reports that Hazanavicius is eying a late 2014 start for Will, a film that has bounced around the studio system for quite awhile. The project would reteam Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis - two major-league A-List talents - and comes from the mind of comedian Demetri Martin, who penned the script. Currently set up at Paramount, the film also carries producing credits from Will Ferrell and Adam McKay. That's an intimidatingly large roster of funny people.

The movie's fantasy concept finds the title character in a world absent of free will, where our actions are dictated by decisions declared by angelic figures from above. However, Will's angel opts to quit, stranding Will in the world and forcing him to make decisions on his own. You can definitely see shades of The Invention of Lying, where Ricky Gervais struggled to figure out a brave new world where he was history's first-ever liar. The film has had Rudd attached to the role of Will and Galifianakis, in a Dinner For Schmucks reunion, as his guardian angel. It would be amusing if they had switched roles, upended typecasting a bit. Otherwise, this whole thing feels vaguely 2006-ish.

The plan is for Hazanavicius is to shift to In The Garden of Beasts afterward. The true story, based on the book by Erik Larson, is about an American family in Berlin during World War II, and currently has Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman attached to play father and daughter. Eric Roth (Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button) is currently adapting the book, and everything about it sounds like it's a home run as a 2016 Oscar contender.

Speaking of which, Hazanavicius' The Search is set to debut soon. The film premieres in competition in Cannes on May 21st, reuniting him with his life partner Berenice Bejo in a remake of the 1948 Fred Zinnemann film which he apparently shot in secrecy. This time, the plot centers on the relationship between an NGO worker and a young boy during the Chechen War. Pretty heavy material – the guess is spending time joking around with Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd and Zach Galifianakis after the film's press tour will be a sweet relief. Meanwhile, Rudd is currently suited up for the upcoming Ant-Man, as Zach Galifianakis is set to show up in the ensemble drama Freeheld.

Not since Chris Farley has there been as awkward of an interviewer as Zach Galifianakis in Funny or Die’s Between Two Ferns. An interview show that literally takes place with Zach and his guest sitting between two ferns as the comedian asks pointed and often taboo questions. The latest show has Galifianakis interviewing the President of the United States, Barack Obama. The results are weird, insane, and awesome.

[[ br. br ]] The banter between the two is impeccable. Much of that goes to the editing style where awkward pauses, some of them appearing to be forced in via the edit, reign supreme. Still when Zach asks Obama, “What’s it like to be the last black President?” You cringe, you laugh, and then you wait for the response. But Obama’s riposte doesn’t come directly after that.

Instead in answering a different question the leader of the free world says of getting a third term:

[[ br. br ]]

Now to the why of Obama’s appearance on an internet comedy interview show full of awkwardness. The Obama administration has taken to social media and new media in general to try and spin the Affordable Care Act fiasco into a positive. Pointing out that more people are being covered that were not, and that the system is working. But you have to love Zach’s question of why would you use the guy who designed the Zune to make such an important website. Is Obamacare working? Sure, I guess it is, but the problem is that it’s not really enough. I’m torn on how I feel since Obamacare has led to this amazing episode of Between Two Ferns, and isn’t laughter the best medicine? It sure beats being able to get a yearly physical.

With more and more states finally deciding that same-sex couples are deserving of the same marital rights as more traditional couples, we can probably expect pop culture to more heavily reflect these changes in the coming years. One example of this is the upcoming drama Freeheld, a feature adaptation of the Academy Award-winning 2007 documentary short of the same name. The film has had Ellen Page attached for years, and she will be joined by the talent-oozing duo of Julianne Moore and comedian Zach Galifianakis, who are both attached to the project.

The story will follow Moore as veteran New York detective Laurel Hester, who gets insult added to injury following the diagnosis of a terminal illness, when her attempts to leave her pension with life partner Stacie Andree (Page) are rejected because the pair aren’t a married husband and wife. Thus began an infuriating civil rights case whose ending I won’t spoil here. THR reports Galifianakis will star as Steven Goldstein, the Garden State Equality activist that played a strong role in the case. There’s another strong role to fill in Hester’s detective partner Dane Wells, whose formerly conservative views morphed as he became more invested in the fight.

This will be the third feature for director Peter Sollett and his follow-up to 2008’s youngin rom-dram Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. He’ll be working from a script written by Roy Donovan episode penner Ron Nyswaner, who earned an Oscar nomination for his similarly homophobia-driven script for 1993’s Philadelphia, which won Tom Hanks the first of his two awards.

Moore is coming off of a busy 2013, filled with telekinetic daughters, a porn-obsessed eye-talian, and a failed playwright. She’ll be seen at the end of the month opposite Liam Neeson’s text messages in the high-flying actioner Non-Stop, and will appear later in the year in David Cronenberg’s fame drama Maps to the Stars and the tentpole The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, the sequel for which is currently filming.

Galifianakis, meanwhile, may always be "the bearded dude from The Hangover" to the masses, so this will be a nice step in the opposite direction. Comedy fans need not worry though, as he’ll fill out 2014 with Alejandro González Iñárritu’s star-studded Birdman, Matthew Weiner’s hometown road trip comedy You Are Here, and a bit role reprisal in Muppets Most Wanted.

Production on Freeheld is set to begin this summer. For more on the project’s inspiration, check out a trailer for the documentary below.

In the summer of 2009 Todd Phillips’ The Hangover became a smash hit and stars Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis became three of the biggest, most sought-after names in Hollywood. The success continued with the first sequel, The Hangover Part II, which sent the characters to Thailand where they had to deal with another missing night. But this weekend, as you’ve read on the posters, it all ends.

To celebrate the finale of The Hangover franchise, The Wolfpack returned to Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Warner Bros. held a press event for the new sequel and held roundtable interview where reporters could talk with the actors and filmmakers behind the series. Read our extended conversation with the three main stars below, in which the trio talks about their favorite memory from the set, the evolving darkness that has grown more significant from sequel to sequel, and bringing more heart to the characters.

Was there a point for each of you where the three of you realized the first Hangover had changed your careers?

Ed Helms: There was a moment, I think, that all of us shared, at a dinner in London. After the US premiere we went over to London to promote it, and we were getting box office returns from that opening weekend while we were in London, and Warner Bros. PR folks were all with us and we were getting a lot of input. Like, “Do you guys understand what’s happening here? This is gonna change your lives.” I think we all just had a little deer in the headlights moment at that dinner, and I’m so grateful we were together for that because otherwise who knows, we might have gone insane. That’s when it felt like something crazy was happening to our lives.

Do have a favorite memory or moment of the Hangover trilogy now that it’s over?

Zach Galifianakis: I think there’s a day when we were filming the first one that we all kind of agree, as far as a working experience... the most I’ve ever laughed in my life was the day we shot the first one, I don’t know if you recall, the older gentleman scene when we were in the hospital with him, and he’s nude. I got the giggles so badly, [pointing to his co-stars] and so did he, and so did he. There was nothing but euphoria running through my body, how much I was laughing. I had to walk off the set I was laughing so hard. That was also the day the election came in 2008. That was a really happy day. A day I will never forget because my body was just beaming with just happiness, because of the giggles from that day and then also what happened that night was a pretty special night.

Bradley Cooper: Then we went to Venice after, and there was a windstorm that night.

Galifianakis: Yeah, there was a windstorm that night. It was kind of a special night. But you know, we have so many good days. We have a lot of -- these movies have been really good to us and we enjoy working together, I think, for the most part.

One thing I was really impressed by in this was just how much heart there is. I was wondering how much insight you brought to your character since it was the last film.

Cooper: I think it’s more along the lines of where I wanted the movie to end up. I think we all think about in terms of the story rather than each individual character. That’s what’s been so special about it, it’s been such a communal endeavor. The filming of the movie, the logistics of it, every day in tacking a scene, it does feel like it’s the four of us. Ideas are thrown and shared and there’s no ownership at all. People sort of say that about collaborative experiences, but this really is the case. It started in the first one, but it really manifested itself in an economical way in the third one. Alan is one of the most incredible creations of a comedic character in decades in film, so the fact that the story revolves around figuring out who this guy is, how can we tame the beast, was a wonderful choice that Todd Phillips made - hopefully one that the audience wants to see. My hunch is that it will be, because there’s no more lost night, there’s no more inebriated nights devastation. It’s really just let’s take care of our friend.

So much of Alan is the heart of this movie, and he’s been essentially a likable guy. People root for him in his dysfunction. This one called for you to be objectionable from square one. It had gone over some weird edge. How did you approach it?

Galifianakis: You mean the beginning with the death of his father?

Well, absolutely. The dissociative reaction to the death of his father.

Galifianakis: It’s embarrassing, but I don’t overthink things too much when I work. I think that might be evident to a lot of people. As far as Alan goes, in the previous two movies, he is so random and can say anything and it doesn’t even have to make sense, and I think he was just there. He’s there to interject some one liners. With this one, since there is a couple of things that happen to him, meaning the death of his father and the tragedy of a highway, you do have to consider those beats in the script and track that in your mind as far as showing a twinge of him being vulnerable. Also the emotion with Melissa McCarthy. It’s fun for me to couple emotion with comedy. I think it helps comedy. I think a lot of times American comedies don’t play on emotion too much. They go for the joke, and what I like about Todd, and Todd and I did this in Due Date, is we kind of wanted to pull at the heartstrings. Just enough for it to be a bit more real, where Alan’s not just a joke. If that answers your question.

When Todd did Hangover II and Due Date, both of those movies have real darkness to them that Hangover and Hangover III don’t quite have. Coming off of the experience of making the second, which was sort of aggressively dark, did you guys have any particular feelings about a shift in tone, or something you wanted this to pivot on from that experience?

Galifianakis: Can I ask you a question? When you say the second one feels dark, is it because... I find the third one to be dark, in a weird way. Not as dark, but equally dark in a way.

Cooper: Well, there’s killing.

Galifianakis: I think it’s the finger of a kid, it makes it seem dark, the second one. What do you specifically think is the dark part of the second one?

I think it was that period where watch both Due Date and The Hangover II, both of them seem sort of mean about their humor. Whereas the first film seems more innocent. At this point it a stronger emotional undercurrent, so I was just wondering if you felt like there was a comparison.

Galifianakis: It’s a fair question.

Cooper: I think if you talk to Todd, which I’m sure you will, he would say the third is the darkest. I think that he would say that, just based on the content. All of the characters are unhinged in the second one. They’re out of their comfort zone, they’re in a foreign land, they’re screaming at each other. They’re trying desperately to make their way, but it’s not working. This third one. the goal is to help Alan. To get Doug back, but also to help Alan. To be there for each other. There were a lot more scenes in the third one like the first one, just driving in the car together, in between moments, that the second one didn’t really have as much of. Because the city was so chaotic, there weren’t these quiet moments by roadside, or finding a condom he thinks is a snakeskin. Those sort of things weren’t able to happen in the second, where with the third one there was that room. I’m going off on some sort of other idea, but that was why I enjoyed the third one a lot. We all did. I think we all did get a chance to sort of just sit with each other, the way we did in the first one.

Helms: I think you’re right, you hit on something that I hadn’t thought a whole lot about, but I did feel like when we made Hangover II, there was an intensity to it. Just being in Bangkok just made the work harder and the energy of it more intense. Getting back here to Vegas for Hangover III, there was like a breath of fresh air and relaxation and familiarity. I don’t if that’s maybe an abstract energy that work it’s way into both movie, but it’s interesting to think about.

Did you all finish on the last day together, and what was that like to say goodbye to this life-changing trilogy?

Galifianakis: It was strangely quiet. It was anti-climactic.

Cooper: We were conscious of not making it a big deal. Very conscious. There was no clapping or anything. We had a nice little party on the stage.

Galifianakis: A nice party on the stage, not a big loud party. I served Greek moonshine from Greece. We had a nice little band that Ed got together. It was a nice little family affair more than a celebration, because honestly, it goes without saying, we’ve worked with crew people for all three movies, mostly the same people, and it’s really a collaborative effort. We’re in front of the camera, but the heavy lifting happens with those guys, and we wanted to celebrate that and not make too big of a deal about it.

You guys are talking about not doing a fourth, but would you guys collaborate ever again? You can’t deny the chemistry you guys have.

Cooper: I would love to.

Galifianakis: We would like to do it if we switched genres, I think that would be fun.

Astronauts or something.

Helms: Yeah, I would do anything with these guys.

Cooper: Zach had a good idea yesterday that we just do Hangover Part IV with a flipcam.

Galifianakis: Make it like a mumblecore thing. It’s not that exciting, but it’s got good dialogue.

Helms: We should all do sequels to Midnight Meat Train, Cedar Rapids, and It’s Kind of a Funny Story.

Have you guys played the Hangover slot machine that they have downstairs on the casino level?

Galifianakis: I haven’t played it.

Helms: I played it last night.

Galifianakis: You did?

Helms: I played The Hangover slot machines right after I went to the Rolling Stones concert last night. It was amazing, and I went and played The Hangover slot machine and won $200.

Galifianakis: Life is really coming together for you.

I actually agree that the franchise has gotten darker and darker as the series has gone on, and I’m curious about the effect you saw that have on Todd Phillips. These are the biggest films of his career, so do you think he was given more creative freedom? How have you perceived the change in him going from the first movie to the third movie??

Cooper: I think he’s evolved as we all have. We’ve grown and learned from the first one. Warner Bros. gave him creative flexibility to the nth degree from the first one on, down to marketing and everything, the trailers. It is his vision executed by everybody, including us. I just think cinematically you’re just watching this guy blossom. He’s got like a hundred and ten piece orchestra scoring this one as opposed to Kanye West scoring the first one, basically. The lenses he chose to use to film this one is different. The scope cinematically, this movie is quite stunning visually and rhythmically. No comedy director makes movies like this. There’s not one that you can tell me that I can think of that does it quite this way. I know I speak for us, that’s really why we keep coming back. If any reason Todd Phillips didn’t direct [Hangovers] II or III, there’s no way we’d be there.

Helms: There’s something incredible -- Todd is a natural leader, he’s a captain. To run a film set of this scale, this complexity, with the decisiveness and clearheaded-ness that he does is very rare. Even directors that are making giant movies oftentimes it’s more chaotic. Todd just runs the ship, steers the ship through treacherous waters and gets us there every time. It’s really cool if you think about just in terms of how Todd has grown, it’s not like he was a rookie. The Hangover was not his first rodeo, but the scale of each Hangover in complexity from a production standpoint, and that’s been really cool to watch our captain take on bigger ships and just still steer them with scientific precision. The last set piece in Hangover III is so crazy, it’s so huge. We shut down the Strip, and had parachutes flying literally over the Bellagio Fountain.

It wasn’t digital?

Helms: It was a mix, but a lot of it was practical.

Cooper: It was a huge stunt.

Did you guys hang off the building at all?

Cooper: We hang off a building they built on a sound stage.

Galifianakis: It was six floors up, I think.

Cooper: It was the highest sound stage Warner Bros. has, because it goes down, deep down into the ground.

Helms: They basically built the top six floors of a building, it was crazy.

Galifianakis: And the wire that we hung from was like that, not even.

Were you afraid?

Galifianakis: I’m terrible at heights. I hate it. I’m glad I’m only 5’7”.

Bradley, with Silver Linings Playbook and The Place Beyond the Pines, and Serena coming up, is comedy interesting to you now that you’re doing all of this dramatic work?

Cooper: I don’t see it as separate things. As much of a drama Silver Linings Playbook was, there’s a lot of comedy in that movie, and we were very conscious of that too while making it. This movie I’m doing right now, American Hustle, which is another David O. Russell movie, there’s a lot of comedy. In an ideal world, the best dramas have brevity in it, so I don’t see it as two separate things at all. It’s really just filmmakers, I want to work with the best filmmakers.

Todd definitely wanted to kill somebody off in this movie. Did you have any sense that it might be you?

Galifianakis: I was volunteering.

After filming the last scene, what is it like finally watching the movie with the editing, the score. What was your reactions watching the movie?

Galifianakis: We cried.

Helms: I don’t know. I’m always stunned seeing these little nuggets we spent three months shooting in such specificity. These different angles, we repeat things over and over to get the right version, and then you don’t know what it’s going to look like. The only person who’s got his mind’s eye on all of it is Todd, and maybe Larry [Sher], our DP. I think it’s a magical thing, it’s really, really fun. Probably my favorite thing about watching a movie that I’m in the first time is to see all the things I didn’t know were happening in a scene around me, all the little expressions that these guys have. Reactions to things or maybe Todd laughed at something on set, and I didn’t know why and then I see, oh, because Zach did that in the background or some great little nugget. It’s so crazy and ridiculous what we get to do.

Galifianakis: You’re also in it so much that you don’t really -- I loved Hangover III, I laughed a lot actually. I emailed Ed to tell him how much his one line made me laugh out of all three movies, his joke. What I like about the third one is that we comment on the movie a little and the franchise, when I put the glasses on Carlos and Phil goes, “Oh God.” I feel like Todd left that in there, and we’re commenting like, “Oh, this is a cheesy moment, but we know some people might like this. Just bare with us. We don’t necessarily agree with this, but this is for somebody that might like it.” And I love that that’s in there. I don’t know if people read into that, but I get to read into that. That’s enjoyable for me, because I have that little inside work insight and that line’s enjoyable for me. It probably doesn’t mean anything to anybody else, but for me it’s fun to watch that kind of stuff.

If you lined up every Hollywood celebrity in order from weirdest to least weird, both Zach Galifianakis and James Franco would be pretty damn close to the front of the pack on the weirdos side. If you lined up every regularly produced show on the Internet from weirdest to least weird, Between Two Ferns might be the clubhouse leader for weirdness. Consequently, anyone paying attention to life knew we’d be in for some straight up fucking weirdness when Franco agreed to be interviewed by Galifianakis on Between Two Ferns, but I’m not sure anyone was quite prepared for the Lonely Island song we wound up getting.

After a few minutes of awkward bantering in the above video, Zach kicks it over to his musical guest, the Lonely Island, for a tribute to spring break. Part frat anthem about crushing pussy and bonging beers and part pro gay marriage song about spending your life with a member of the same sex, the track, in theory, spins its wheels in different directions, but because it never breaks character, it has a very persuasive tone to it, as if it’s telling people going on vacation, getting drunk with the bros and then marrying a dude is among the more normal activities in the world.

The world won’t change until unexpected people stand up and support gay marriage. From frat brothers to Christians to Southern Republicans to older people, the most unexpected voices often ring the loudest. Someday there will be equality for everyone. Here’s to hoping it happens sooner rather than later.